out of date

prep_phrase

"out-of-date" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“out of date” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Too old to be used; not current; invalid; having expired.

Corpus desk

Index EN-out-of-date · out of date · English

out of date · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "O" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for out of date
PropertyValue
Headwordout of date
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPrep_phrase
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “out of date” in English

out of datefalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

out of date is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for out of date, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is out of date, spelled O-U-T- -O-F- -D-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Too old to be used; not current; invalid; having expired.
  2. 2
    Not conforming to the current fashion or style; old-fashioned; outmoded.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how out of date appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. My bus pass is out of date — I'll have to go buy a new one.
  2. I can't eat this salad, it's out of date.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "out of date"?
"out of date" is spelled O-U-T- -O-F- -D-A-T-E.
What does "out of date" mean?
As a prep_phrase, "out of date" means: Too old to be used; not current; invalid; having expired.
What language does "out of date" come from?
"out of date" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list