outdated

American  

[out-dey-tid] / ˌaʊtˈdeɪ tɪd /

adjective

1. no longer in use or fashionable; out-of-date; outmoded; antiquated.

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outdated British  

/ ˌaʊtˈdeɪtɪd /

adjective

1. old-fashioned or obsolete

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Etymology

Origin of outdated

First recorded in 1610–20; out- + date ¹ + -ed ²

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Anything that's so old-fashioned that it's unstylish or not useful is outdated. You might love the way an antique car looks, but its outdated safety standards (no seat belts or airbags) make it dangerous to drive on the highway. The 70s bell-bottom jeans your aunt still wears might be embarrassingly outdated, but at least they function as pants. Your outdated computer, on the other hand, isn't even capable of getting online or connecting to your printer — in other words, it's obsolete, or completely useless.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.

Example Sentences

He said the universal service obligation to deliver letters six days a week was "outdated".

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

You have beaten that rather rough and, frankly, outdated calculator to determine your Roth/traditional IRA balance.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 20, 2026

The firm will soon present the town with its recommendations, which Davis said could include a proposal to allow the division of the town’s outdated, sprawling lots into several “child lots,” that include smaller units.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

Many critics, however, dismissed the film as stale, even outdated.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2026

Venkatesh soon discovered that the names and addresses he had been given were badly outdated.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Related Words

• antiquated
• archaic
• obsolete
• old
• out-of-date
• outmoded