outsider
Americannoun
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a person not belonging to a particular group, set, party, etc..
Society often regards the artist as an outsider.
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a person unconnected or unacquainted with the matter in question.
Not being a parent, I was regarded as an outsider.
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a racehorse, sports team, or other competitor not considered likely to win or succeed.
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a person or thing not within an enclosure, boundary, etc.
noun
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a person or thing excluded from or not a member of a set, group, etc
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a contestant, esp a horse, thought unlikely to win in a race
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(in the north) a person who does not live in the Arctic regions
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of outsider
Explanation
An outsider is a stranger — someone who doesn't fit in, or someone who observes a group from afar. An outsider stands outside the group, looking in. If you go through high school without belonging to any particular group — you're not a jock, a nerd, or an artist, for example — you might feel like an outsider. Having a brand new job can also put you in the position of being an outsider, especially if you have no experience in the profession. To an outsider, the way a busy restaurant works might seem chaotic and random, for example. To an insider, on the other hand, it might all make perfect sense.
Vocabulary lists containing outsider
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But this is a viable media enterprise that I’m really interested in for the sake of comedy and the opportunity for outsider or fringe comedy.
From Slate • Jul. 12, 2026
But I’ve always been the outsider in those rooms.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 9, 2026
The British outsider had the 'Willbombers' in his corner.
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026
But it’s unlikely that Carlson can simply transmit an outsider glow to Vance, even if they are friends.
From Salon • Jun. 26, 2026
She talked about her dad and stepmom and her two stepbrothers in San Francisco, and how she had felt like an outsider in her own family.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
