Which to use
“outgoing” is an adjective and “outing” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,207
- “outgoing” frequency rank
- #15,016
- “outing” frequency rank
- 28223
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | outgoing | outing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Extroverted: talkative, friendly, and social, especially with respect to meeting new people easily and comfortably; outgiving. | A pleasure trip or excursion. |
Where the eye mixes outgoing and outing
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between outgoing and outing
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: outgoing is /aʊtˈɡəʊɪŋ/ while outing is /ˈaʊtɪŋ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28223, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
outgoing is recorded at frequency rank #13,207, classified as anadj, pronounced /aʊtˈɡəʊɪŋ/. outing is at rank #15,016, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaʊtɪŋ/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 28223, this pair ranks #372,752 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of outgoing vs outing
Shared letters: ginotu. Private to "outgoing": -. Private to "outing": -.
"outgoing" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVVCC · "outing" · 6 letters · shape VVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "outgoing" and "outing" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "outgoing" or "outing"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "outgoing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "outing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #372,752 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "outgoing" and "outing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ousting vs outing". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #372,752 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.