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Showing results for outbuilding. Search instead for outbuildings.
Synonyms

outbuilding

American  
[out-bil-ding] / ˈaʊtˌbɪl dɪŋ /

noun

  1. a detached building building subordinate to a main building. building.

outbuilding British  
/ ˈaʊtˌbɪldɪŋ /

noun

  1. a building subordinate to but separate from a main building; outhouse

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of outbuilding

First recorded in 1620–30; out- + building

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She told the court all that was done was the demolition of an outbuilding and some work on the foundations.

From BBC • Oct. 23, 2025

The Wiltshire Council signed off on his plans to build an ornamental outbuilding, a three-story extension, the lake and a driveway that curves around it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 2, 2025

As armed officers moved into Knowles's garden in Milford Avenue, drone footage captured the moment he emerged from an outbuilding with his hands up before being handcuffed in front of his bonfire.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2025

An outbuilding separate from a main house in Malibu Knolls burned, but other homes around it were unscathed.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2024

And so for almost half a stupid year, all the boys were gathered up by sad-faced Mr. Royal and plonked out here in an outbuilding away from the main Noise of the town.

From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.