Out of doors or outdoors?
out of doors is an adverb meaning “outdoors; outside”; outdoors is an adverb meaning “Not inside a house or under covered structure; unprotected; in the open air”.
What is the difference between out of doors and outdoors?
| out of doors | outdoors | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adverb, noun, adjective, prepositional phrase | adverb, noun, verb |
| Meaning | outdoors; outside outdoors | Not inside a house or under covered structure; unprotected; in the open air The environment outside of enclosed structures The natural environment in the open air, countryside away from cities and buildings |
| Example | You are allowed to smoke out of doors | They went outdoors to light up their cigarettes |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /aʊtˈdɔː(ɹ)z/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 5.1 times per million words |
Sources: out of doors and outdoors in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of out of doors and outdoors
out of doors
- 1
outdoors; outside
- 2
outdoors
- 3
datedDated form of outdoors (“not inside any building”)
You are allowed to smoke out of doors
outdoors
- 1
Not inside a house or under covered structure; unprotected; in the open air
They went outdoors to light up their cigarettes
- 2
The environment outside of enclosed structures
He won't leave his house: he's afraid of the outdoors
- 3
The natural environment in the open air, countryside away from cities and buildings
She loves the outdoors, for its freedom and fresh air
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, out of doors or outdoors?
out of doors is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; outdoors 5.1 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).