outgroup

noun

"outgroup" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“outgroup” is uncommon English (frequency #72,624 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,624
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The group of people who do not belong to one's own social group.

Corpus desk

Index EN-outgroup · outgroup · English

outgroup · rank #72,624 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #72,624
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH Otsego

Nearest frequency peer: Otsego (-2 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “outgroup”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “outgroup” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for outgroup
PropertyValue
Headwordoutgroup
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Frequency rank#72,624
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “outgroup” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).outgroupfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Otsego” (#72,622), “overexposure” (#72,626), “overspend” (#72,627). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “outgroup” is #72,624. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

outgroup is uncommon English at frequency #72,624 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

outgroup has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From out- + group. The correct English form is outgroup, spelled O-U-T-G-R-O-U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    The group of people who do not belong to one's own social group.
  2. 2
    In cladistics, all the taxa included in a study that do not belong to the ingroup that is of immediate interest.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. This dissertation promises to correct for this theoretical deficit by formulating, elaborating, and ultimately testing a group-based moral emotions account in which white Americans’ moral appraisals of and attitudes towards racial/ethnic outgroups are considerably influenced by those of and towards fellow whites. […] On the basis of the insights from inte…
  2. A cladistic analysis of 45 ingroup and two outgroup taxa was performed on the basis of 134 characters.

Etymology

From out- + group.

Antonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "outgroup"?
"outgroup" is spelled O-U-T-G-R-O-U-P.
What does "outgroup" mean?
As a noun, "outgroup" means: The group of people who do not belong to one's own social group.
What is the origin of the word "outgroup"?
From out- + group. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "outgroup", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list