outset
/ˈaʊtsɛt/noun, verb
outset is spelled O-U-T-S-E-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, outset means “An onset; the beginning or initial stage of something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of outset is outsets.
How many letters and syllables are in outset?
| Letters | 6: O-U-T-S-E-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,228th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is outset?
Outset appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce outset?
- /ˈaʊtsɛt/
Outset has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-outset.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of outset
- outsets plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- outsetting participle, present
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does outset mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An onset; the beginning or initial stage of something.
He agreed and understood from the outset, so don't bother explaining again.
verb
- 1
To cause (a design element) to extend around the outside of something else, the opposite of being inset.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Outset in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense initial stage of something:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does outset come from?
From out- + set, replacing earlier outsetting.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).