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
“The government doesn’t usually outsource its investigatory processes to external people,” he said, referring to Loomer and others.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
That is why the defence ministry has opted to partly outsource the task to private actors, including energy companies, frequently targeted by Russian strikes, logistics firms and security groups to protect their sites.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 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
“We will never outsource to India,” said Neeleman.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
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.
