out-

See also: out and oût

English

Etymology

From Middle English ut-, from Old English ūt- (“out, without, outside”) (also as ūta-, ūtan- (“from or on the outside, without”), as in ūtanweard (“outward, external”)), from Proto-Germanic *ūt- (“out-”). Cognate with Dutch uit-, German aus-, Swedish ut-, Icelandic út-. More at out.

Prefix

out-

1. External to, on the outside of

   outback

   outhouse

2. Toward the outside of, away from

   outcast

   outlead

   outflee

3. Forms verbs with the sense of surpassing or exceeding the prefixed word, which need not be a verb itself.

   outdo

   outlast

   outmaneuver

   • a. 1602, William Shakespeare, Hamlet Act 3 Scene 2:

     It out-Herods Herod. Pray you, avoid it.

4. Greater than, beyond

   outsize

   outrun

   outgrow

5. Completely

   outfit

   outwork

Derived terms

► English words prefixed with out-