outdated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Origin of outdated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Anything that's so old-fashioned that it's unstylish or not useful is outdated. You might love the way an antique car looks, but its outdated safety standards (no seat belts or airbags) make it dangerous to drive on the highway. The 70s bell-bottom jeans your aunt still wears might be embarrassingly outdated, but at least they function as pants. Your outdated computer, on the other hand, isn't even capable of getting online or connecting to your printer — in other words, it's obsolete, or completely useless.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Vocabulary lists containing outdated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.
Mutual-fund company T. Rowe Price lists special equity awards among pay practices that it considers outdated or at risk of divorcing executives’ interests from those of shareholders in its proxy voting guidelines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
But the mics also picked up reporters chatting, and embarrassing comments went beyond their frequent use of the hyper-localized and outdated NorCal modifier “hella.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
"I think it is outdated," FSA chairman Tom Greatrex told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Older data centers did rely heavily on evaporative cooling, much like an outdated car relied on a carburetor.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
These were Foxtrot class diesel-electric subs, fairly outdated by American standards.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
