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
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.
The 63-year-old Irish executive came into BP telling contacts that he had the executive-level experience and unflinching personality the company needed from an outsider to shake things up, according to people who interacted with him.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
His departure is the latest leadership shakeup after company outsider Meg O'Neill became chief executive in April, with a mission of implementing a recovery plan for the group.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
“I was an outsider when I first ran and I think I’ll be an outsider in this race and I’m OK with that,” she said after she announced her candidacy in February.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
What choices Nadia Marcinko had, if any, in the course of her long association with Jeffrey Epstein, it is impossible for an outsider to know.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
Paulson was fifteen years older than Burry, and far better known on Wall Street, but he was still, in some ways, a Wall Street outsider.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
