outlet

[out-let, -lit]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR outlet ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an opening or passage by which anything is let out; vent; exit.

Electricity.

a point on a wiring system at which current is taken to supply electric devices.
Also called outlet box.the metal box or receptacle designed to facilitate connections to a wiring system.

a means of expression or satisfaction: an outlet for one's artistic impulses.

a market for goods.

a store, merchant, or agency selling the goods of a particular wholesaler or manufacturer.

a local radio or television station that broadcasts the programs of a large network.

a river or stream flowing from a body of water, as a lake or pond.

the channel such a river or stream follows.

the lower end or mouth of a river where it meets a large body of water, as a lake or the sea.

Origin of outlet

First recorded in 1200–50, outlet is from the Middle English word utlete. See out, let¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for outlet

Contemporary Examples of outlet

With no family, little community support, and no outlet for education, they face a bleak future.
Liberia’s Ebola Orphans
Abby Haglage
October 14, 2014
Novellas, movies, rants, columns, docudramas—creative lefties left no outlet unturned.
The Strange World of Political Assassination Fantasies
James Poulos
September 24, 2014
He said Diana was looking for “an outlet to take them on,” adding, “They were quite a powerful organization: they still are.”
Diana Leaked Royal Phone Numbers
Tom Sykes, Peter Jukes
March 13, 2014
Film was an outlet, and the intricately crafted pieces—regardless of who made them—told their own stories.
Barbara Tfank: The Red Carpet Radical
Erin Cunningham
March 2, 2014
The outlet was almost shut down entirely in the early 2000s.
Banter With The Beast: MSNBC’s Head Honcho Phil Griffin on Admiring Roger Ailes and More
Lloyd Grove
January 30, 2014

Historical Examples of outlet

This fjord has its outlet in Barkley Sound on the west side of the island.
Indian Legends of Vancouver Island
Alfred Carmichael
In man, the gateway to the soul; in woman, the outlet of the heart.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
There was also an outlet to the street to carry off the overflow.
Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, Mycenae
Jennie Hall
No water could be seen, however, as a sharp turn cut off our view of the outlet.
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle
We were prisoners there with no outlet, and so our death was only a question of time.
Nana, The Miller's Daughter, Captain Burle, Death of Olivier Becaille
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for outlet

outlet

noun

an opening or vent permitting escape or release

a means for release or expression of emotion, creative energy, etc

a market for a product or service
a commercial establishment retailing the goods of a particular producer or wholesaler

a channel that drains a body of water
the mouth of a river

a point in a wiring system from which current can be taken to supply electrical devices

anatomy the beginning or end of a passage, esp the lower opening of the pelvis (pelvic outlet)

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

Word Origin and History for outlet

mid-13c., "a river mouth," from out + let (v.). Electrical wiring sense is attested from 1892. Meaning "a retail store" is attested from 1933. Figurative sense "means of relief or discharge" is from 1620s.

outlet

noun

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Origin of outlet

Examples from the Web for outlet

Contemporary Examples of outlet

Historical Examples of outlet

outlet

noun