outsource

[out-sawrs, ‐sohrs]

See more synonyms for outsource on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), out·sourced, out·sourc·ing.

(of a company or organization) to purchase (goods) or subcontract (services) from an outside supplier or source.
to contract out (jobs, services, etc.): a small business that outsources bookkeeping to an accounting firm.

verb (used without object), out·sourced, out·sourc·ing.

to obtain goods or services from an outside source: U.S. companies who outsource from China.

Origin of outsource

1975–80

Related formsout·sourc·ing, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for outsourcing

source, deploy, redistribute, expand, utilize

Examples from the Web for outsourcing

Contemporary Examples of outsourcing

The next day, Perdue was asked if he could defend the “outsourcing” charges.
The GOP’s Really Big Problem in Georgia
Patricia Murphy
October 22, 2014
The truth about his role in outsourcing jobs seems to be somewhere in the middle.
The GOP’s Really Big Problem in Georgia
Patricia Murphy
October 22, 2014
Another technique is the outsourcing of labor to lower paid foreign workers, the so called “techno-coolies.”
Silicon Valley’s Giants Are Just Gilded Age Tycoons in Techno-Utopian Clothes
Joel Kotkin
April 25, 2014
At this point, she began marketing her designs as furniture and was outsourcing labor to produce them.
Don’t Just Look at This Art, Sit on It
Justin Jones
March 5, 2014
Outsourcing simply means that a person, or even a machine, will perform an operation for you.
Just Don’t Do It: Why You Should Outsource More of Your Life
Ari Meisel
February 22, 2014

Historical Examples of outsourcing

The strategy of outsourcing is based on the notion that maximum efficiency requires specialization that companies cannot achieve.
The Civilization of Illiteracy
Mihai Nadin

British Dictionary definitions for outsourcing

outsource

verb (tr) (of a manufacturer)

to subcontract (work) to another company
to buy in (components for a product) rather than manufacture them

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for outsourcing

outsource

in reference to jobs going overseas, by 1981 (as outsourcing), from out + source (v.). Related: Outsourced.