outset

[out-set]

noun

1. the beginning or start.

   I wanted to explain the situation at the outset.

2. outsert.

outset

/ ˈaʊtˌsɛt /

noun

1. a start; beginning (esp in the phrase from ( or at ) the outset )

Word History and Origins

Origin of outset¹

First recorded in 1530–40; out- + set

Idioms and Phrases

see at the outset.

Example Sentences

Looking back, Sprung says there was no way to tell at the outset that this new client expected “that every time she logged into her account, it would go up.”

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Freeing them meant Hamas had to give up its biggest lever of power over Israel at the outset.

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Healy was in control from the outset, racing to her half-century in just 35 balls, the fastest fifty of this tournament, before bringing up her sixth ODI hundred, her first as captain.

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With the United Nations having declared famine in Gaza City just before the outset of the latest Israeli offensive, aid agencies are hoping the ceasefire will give them the opportunity to surge in aid.

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“From the outset, this suit was an affront to all artists and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day,” the company said.

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Related Words

• beginning