Definitions
01not part of a group
B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun
n. a person who is not part of a specific group, community, or organization.
n. an individual who does not belong to a particular social, professional, or community group.
日本語:他人※
“As a new employee from a different country, he felt like an outsider during the first week.”
“The anthropologist remained an outsider to the tribe, observing their rituals without ever being permitted to participate in the sacred ceremonies.”
02end of a bread loaf
C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Cooking Dialect · Archaic
n. the piece of bread at the very end of a loaf.
n. the heel or terminal slice of a loaf of bread.
“My grandfather always preferred the outsider of the loaf because it was the crunchiest part.”
“In certain northern dialects, the outsider is the most coveted slice of the morning's fresh bake.”
Usage
This sense is highly regional and rarely encountered in standard modern English.
Teaching tip
Most modern speakers use 'heel' or 'crust' for this; students should only learn this for historical or specific regional reading.
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “outsider” in context.
Verb
01. feel like an outsider
“Moving to a new country made her feel like an outsider for the first few years.”
verb + prep + noun
02. remain an outsider
“He chose to remain an outsider rather than compromise his artistic integrity for the sake of popularity.”
verb + noun
03. treat someone as an outsider
“The local community often treated newcomers as outsiders for several generations.”
verb + noun + prep + noun
Adjective
04. perennial outsider
“Despite his talent, he remained a perennial outsider in the tight-knit literary circles of London.”
adj + noun
05. rank outsider
“The rank outsider shocked the racing world by winning the Grand National at odds of 100-1.”
adj + noun
Noun
06. outsider perspective
“The consultant provided a valuable outsider perspective on the company's internal conflicts.”
noun + noun
Preposition
07. to an outsider
“To an outsider, their family dynamics might seem incredibly chaotic and confusing.”
prep + noun
Real-World Examples
“This appears to rule out a popular theory that the mass grave held foreign invaders or other outsiders.” “Yet in recent years, Igwe says he and other residents became worried when they noticed outsiders arriving to hunt the birds and vulture numbers dwindled.” Etymology
From outside + -er.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- C1 · AdvancedOxford
- Updated
- アルファベット
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/outsider
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「日本語」「カタカナ語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0
‘외래어’ data: 한국어기초사전 (국립국어원), CC BY-SA 2.0 KR