Stand out or standout?
stand out is a verb meaning “To jut out, protrude (from a surface etc.)”; standout is an adjective meaning “Exceptional; noteworthy”. Use stand out as a verb and standout as an adjective. stand out is written as two words and standout as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between stand out and standout?
| stand out | standout | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb, adjective | adjective, noun |
| Meaning | To jut out, protrude (from a surface etc.) To persist in opposition or resistance (against something); to refuse to comply (with someone) | Exceptional; noteworthy An exceptional or noteworthy person or thing The distance a self-retracting metal tape measure can be extended before collapsing under its own weight |
| Example | Tourist guides often carry umbrellas so that they stand out in a crowd | The band played well, but the acrobats gave the standout performance |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈstændaʊt/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 1.9 times per million words |
Sources: stand out and standout 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 stand out and standout
stand out
- 1
To jut out, protrude (from a surface etc.)
- 2
Alternative form of standout
- 3
To persist in opposition or resistance (against something); to refuse to comply (with someone)
- 4
To sail in a direction away from shore
- 5
To be clearly distinguishable; to be obvious, to be easily noticeable, in contrast to the surroundings
Tourist guides often carry umbrellas so that they stand out in a crowd
- 6
To be prominent or conspicuous; to have special significance
She stood out from the other candidates and was offered the job
standout
- 1
Exceptional; noteworthy
The band played well, but the acrobats gave the standout performance
- 2
An exceptional or noteworthy person or thing
This building is one of the city's architectural standouts
- 3
The distance a self-retracting metal tape measure can be extended before collapsing under its own weight
This tape measure has a standout of 14 feet
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, stand out or standout?
stand out is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; standout 1.9 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search stand out vs standout?
“stand out vs standout” is searched about 30 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“standout vs stand out”, “stand out or standout”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.