outside
out·side/aʊtˈsaɪd/noun, adjective, adverb, preposition, verb
outside is spelled O-U-T-S-I-D-E, 2 syllables: out·side. The wrong spelling people search most is ouside: about 20 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 286 of all searches for the word. Outside is a noun meaning “The part of something that faces out; the outer surface”. The plural of outside is outsides.
How many letters and syllables are in outside?
| Letters | 7: O-U-T-S-I-D-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: out·side |
| In writing | 178 times per million words; the 565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, ouside, about 20 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell outside?
Outside is spelled O-U-T-S-I-D-E. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 144 of the searches for outside in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is outside?
Outside appears 178 times per million words in written English, the 565th 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 outside?
- /aʊtˈsaɪd/
As an adjective (“Of or pertaining to the outer surface, limit or boundary”): /ˈaʊt.saɪd/, /ˈaʊt.sɑɪd/, /ˈæʊ.so̞ɪd/.
Outside has 2 syllables, split out·side in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-outside.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-outside_(adj).wav, En-us-outside.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with outside?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as outside.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: tedious.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of outside
- outsides plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- more outside comparative
- most outside superlative
- outsiding participle, present
- outsided participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does outside mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The part of something that faces out; the outer surface.
He's repainting the outside of his house.
- 2
The external appearance of someone or something.
Her outside was stern, but inside was a heart of gold.
- 3
The space beyond some limit or boundary.
Viewed from the outside, the building seemed unremarkable.
- 4
The furthest limit, as to number, quantity, extent, etc.
It may last a week at the outside.
- 5
The part of a road towards the central division: towards the right if one drives on the left, or towards the left if one drives on the right.
On a motorway, you should always overtake other vehicles on the outside.
- 6
The side of a curved road, racetrack etc. that has the longer arc length; the side of a racetrack furthest from the interior of the course or some other point of reference.
On the final bend, the second-place car tried to go around the outside of the leader but spun off into the barrier.
- 7
The outer part of the sea, away from the peak of a wave.
- 8
UKcolloquialdatedA passenger riding on the outside of a coach or carriage.
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to the outer surface, limit or boundary.
The outside surface looks good.
- 2
Of, pertaining to or originating from beyond the outer surface, limit or boundary.
- 3
Away from the interior or center of something.
- 4
Originating from, arranged by, or being someone outside an organization, group, etc.
The Board did not trust outside information about their rivals.
- 5
Extending or going beyond the borders or scope of an organization, group, etc.
- 6
Away (far) from the batter as it crosses home plate.
The first pitch is ... just a bit outside.
- 7
Reaching the extreme or farthest limit, as to extent, quantity, etc; maximum.
an outside estimate
- 8
UKPositioned towards the central division of a road: towards the right-hand side if one drives on the left, or left-hand side if one drives on the right.
the outside lane of the motorway
adverb
- 1
To or in the outdoors or outside; to or in an area that is beyond the scope, limits, or borders of a given place.
I am going outside.
- 2
colloquialNot in prison.
- 3
Beyond the breaking waves.
- 4
Outdoors.
I slept outside last night.
preposition
- 1
On the outside of, not inside (something, such as a building).
- 2
Beyond the scope, limits, or borders of.
tourists from outside the country
- 3
Near, but not in.
Jane Green […] lives outside New York City with her husband and children.
- 4
Except, apart from.
Outside of winning the lottery, the only way to succeed is through many years of hard work.
verb
- 1
To ostracize or exclude.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Outside in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | extérieur , externe , hors, dehors, à l'extérieur , hors de |
| German | Außenseite , außerhalb, draußen |
| Portuguese | exterior , fora, para fora , fora de , lado de fora , externo |
| Spanish | exterior , fuera, afuera , fuera de , fuera del alcance de |
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 outside come from?
From out + side.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).