outdated
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of outdated
Explanation
Anything that's so old-fashioned that it's unstylish or not useful is outdated. You might love the way an antique car looks, but its outdated safety standards (no seat belts or airbags) make it dangerous to drive on the highway. The 70s bell-bottom jeans your aunt still wears might be embarrassingly outdated, but at least they function as pants. Your outdated computer, on the other hand, isn't even capable of getting online or connecting to your printer — in other words, it's obsolete, or completely useless. This adjective dates from the early 1600s, from the "mark as old fashioned" meaning of the verb date.
Vocabulary lists containing outdated
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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.
On one hand, the sector is seen as huge opportunity to boost economic growth and a way to improve outdated digital systems and ways of working.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
“Men’s Central Jail is an outdated and decrepit facility that puts both our Sheriff’s deputies and inmates at risk,” Hahn said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
The AAP guidance also highlights research that challenges the outdated assumption that more time devoted to classroom instruction equals more learning.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
Decades-in-the-making technologies are now becoming viable alternatives to outdated systems for cooling and power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
In the next ten minutes, I managed to anger or amuse most of them, or so it seemed, by trying to enforce my hopelessly outdated porter list.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
