outdoors

American  

[aut-dawrz, -dohrz] / ˌaʊtˈdɔrz, -ˈdoʊrz /

adverb

1. out of doors; in the open air.

   He's happiest when he's outdoors.

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noun

1. (used with a singular verb) the world outside of or away from houses; open air.

   Our whole family likes the outdoors.

adjective

1. outdoor.

outdoors British  

/ ˌaʊtˈdɔːz /

adverb

1. Also: out-of-doors. in the open air; outside

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noun

1. the world outside or far away from human habitation

   the great outdoors

outdoors Idioms  

1. see big as life (all outdoors).

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Etymology

Origin of outdoors

1810–20; earlier out ( of ) doors

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

outdoors

A patio divides the two halves, providing access to the outdoors and opportunities to bring more light into both wings of the house.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

"People potentially get lulled into a sense of security when the intensity of sunlight is weak and they spend too long outdoors without adequate protection. We have shown that is a problem for skin damage."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

And families across the country are participating in the “1,000 Hours Outside” challenge, where they try to spend that amount of time outdoors in a year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

For James Benwell, of the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust, searching for fungi has become a way to explore the outdoors with his young son.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

He would be afraid to work outdoors, and would do nothing until he had thought of a scheme to catch me, or at least to get the gun.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien

Related Words

• garden