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.

Origin of outpost

First recorded in 1750–60; out- + post²

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

Related Words for outpost

settlement, station, frontier, position, boundary

Examples from the Web for outpost

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of outpost

It was proposed to build an outpost of Weald there, against blueskins.
Pariah Planet
Murray Leinster
She had only one sentinel on the outpost of her spirit, and that was the sense of touch and feeling.
The Scapegoat
Hall Caine
Holt was formerly known as Lyons, and was a Roman outpost of Chester.
England, Picturesque and Descriptive
Joel Cook
While the fight was raging on the plain, Weber with his outpost was driven in.
Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman
J. H. (James Harvey) Kidd
This was merely an outpost strategy, laid as they passed along.
Dwellers in the Hills
Melville Davisson Post

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

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.