outsource
Americanverb (used with object)
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(of a company or organization) to purchase (goods) or subcontract (services) from an outside supplier or source.
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to contract out (jobs, services, etc.).
a small business that outsources bookkeeping to an accounting firm.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to subcontract (work) to another company
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to buy in (components for a product) rather than manufacture them
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of outsource
1975–80
Explanation
To outsource is to hire someone outside a company to do work. A newspaper might outsource some of its stories, paying freelance writers instead of using its full-time staff. When a business outsources, they either employ someone who freelances or works for another company, or they buy supplies from outside the company. Either way, it often involves paying less for the labor or goods, and many companies save money by outsourcing from other countries. This business term is relatively new, emerging in the 1980s from the verb source, "obtain from a particular source."
Vocabulary lists containing outsource
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Southeast Asia - Introductory
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Southeast Asia - Middle School
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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 they added that to simply "outsource their thinking" to the tech would highlight its limits.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
With Chinese companies having taken the lead in developing electric vehicles, he did not exclude the company deciding to outsource electrification to its Chinese partners.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
The debate mirrors broader concerns about whether AI will deepen learning or encourage students to outsource reasoning and problem-solving.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
It’s not hard to imagine this “workload creep” leading managers to outsource even more of their tasks to A.I. to account for it.
From Slate • Apr. 9, 2026
But they were happy to outsource it to Skadden, Arps.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
