outer

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outer¹

  • /ˈaʊtə/ UK
  • /ˈaʊtɚ/ US
  • [ˈaʊɾɚ] US

Sounds like outta (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -aʊtə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English outre, outer, outter, uttre, from Old English ūtre, ūtera, ūterra (“outer”), equivalent to out + -er. Compare German äußere (“outer”), Danish ydre (“outer”), Swedish yttre (“outer”), Icelandic ytri (“outer”). Piecewise doublet of utter.

adjective outermore · outermost · outmost

  1. Outside; external.
  2. Farther from the centre of the inside. Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall. Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime. Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the ho

Opposite: inner

noun outers

  1. An outer part. 'Phil Cornish' [a snowdrop variety] is like a cross between a pixie hat and a pagoda, with elegant upswept outers [outer petals] marked in a green colour-wash at the top and warpaint slashes at the lower end.
  2. An uncovered section of the seating at a stadium or sportsground.
  3. The fourth circle on a target, outside the inner and magpie.
  4. A shot which strikes the outer of a target.
  5. The smallest single unit sold by wholesalers to retailers, usually one retail display box. We ordered two cartons with twelve outers in each.

outer²

  • /ˈaʊtə/ UK
  • /ˈaʊtɚ/ US
  • [ˈaʊɾɚ] US

Sounds like outta (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -aʊtə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

out (verb) + -er (“agent suffix”)

noun outers

  1. Someone who admits to something publicly.
  2. Someone who outs another. From the early 90s, these were some of the fiercest debates raging in the gay press and in gay and straight bars worldwide as blabbermouths blabbed, sometimes just for the sheer hell of it, and gay celebrities ran for cover or bit the bullet and pipped the outers to the post.
  3. One who puts out, ousts, or expels.
  4. An ouster; dispossession.
  5. UK One who supports leaving the European Union. The 51.4 per cent to 48.6 per cent victory of the "outers" broke the back of the Labour government.

    Similar: Brexiter

Similar: informant · Opposite: inner

outer³

  • /ˈaʊtə/ UK
  • /ˈaʊtɚ/ US
  • [ˈaʊɾɚ] US

Sounds like outta (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -aʊtə(ɹ)

adjective

  1. comparative comparative form of out (“(more) open about one's sexuality, etc”): more out And 'I like to wear a silly hat; I get camper by the hour. I'm Will Young and I'm gay. Did you know I was gay? I hid it for a while. But now I'm out, I'm outer than you would believe'.[…]

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: outward, outermost, outside, out, outmost, satellite, external, externally, exterior, outwards, outlying, extreme, distant, remote, off-site, abroad

adjective

Opposite: inner

noun

Similar: informant · Opposite: inner

Translations

Every language

adj outside

Españolexterior, externo
Portuguêsexterno
Françaisextérieur, externe
Deutschäußer-, außen
Italianoesterno
Русскийвне́шний vnéšnij, нару́жный narúžnyj

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Cite this
MLA

"outer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/outer. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

outer. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/outer

Chicago

"outer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/outer.

BibTeX
@misc{outer_2026,
  title = {outer},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/outer},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}