outpost

[out-pohst]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR outpost ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a station established at a distance from the main body of an army to protect it from surprise attack: We keep only a small garrison of men at our desert outposts.

the body of troops stationed there; detachment or perimeter guard.

an outlying settlement, installation, position, etc.

Nearby words

Origin of outpost

First recorded in 1750–60; out- + post²

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

Examples from the Web for outpost

The Cubans pulled up to the outpost and crammed the survivors into an open-body jeep and a pickup truck.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A former store manager at a Malibu, California outpost filed a lawsuit in December of 2012.
His Reputation Precedes Him: Dov Charney’s Blacklist|Justin Jones|June 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On July 4, 2009, a human wave of insurgents attacked the joint U.S./Afghan outpost at Zerok.
We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night|Nathan Bradley Bethea|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A guard tower sat high up on a nearby hill, but the outpost itself was no fortress.
We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night|Nathan Bradley Bethea|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Bergdahl was relieved from guard duty, and instead of going to sleep, he fled the outpost on foot.
We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night|Nathan Bradley Bethea|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now this outpost of Vincennes was one of the first settlements formed in the valley of the Mississippi.
On the Kentucky Frontier|James Otis
The piquets were strengthened and pushed forward, affording another opportunity for a useful lesson in outpost duty.
Forty-one years in India|Frederick Sleigh Roberts
A plan to invade England also helped to deflect his mind from establishing an outpost of his empire upon our continent.
A Straight Deal|Owen Wister
It was that noise we heard in the night, and we were fully expecting a horde of these men of Kharili to pour upon our outpost.
Captured at Tripoli|Percy F. Westerman
His camp was concealed by a skirt of woods, and covered by an outpost.
The Student's Life of Washington; Condensed from the Larger Work of Washington Irving|Washington Irving

British Dictionary definitions for outpost

outpost

noun

military

a position stationed at a distance from the area occupied by a major formation
the troops assigned to such a position

an outlying settlement or position

a limit or frontier

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 outpost

outpost

1757, "military position detached from the main body of troops," from out + post (n.2). Originally in George Washington's letters. Commercial sense of "trading settlement near a frontier" is from 1802. Phrase outpost of Empire (by 1895) in later use often echoes Kipling.

outpost

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of outpost

Examples from the Web for outpost

outpost

noun

outpost