outdoors

1. 1
   adverb

   In the open air, not inside a house or under any covered structure.

   The ceremony was held outdoors despite the threat of rain.

   Some hardy cattle breeds can sleep outdoors all winter without harm.

   Similaralfresco

   Oppositeindoors, inside

   Note

   An adverb with two possible origins. It is most likely a clipped out of doors, though it may instead be outdoor plus the old adverb-forming -s, the ending in phrases like works nights. That -s is the practical point. Outdoors answers where (they went outdoors), while outdoor sits before a noun (an outdoor ceremony). Alfresco is a synonym, and withoutdoors is a rarer relative.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The environment that lies outside of enclosed structures, in the open air.

   Floor-to-ceiling windows blur the line between the living room and the outdoors.

   Workers who spend their shifts in the outdoors face greater sun exposure.

   Similaroutside, open

   Oppositeindoors

   Note

   The noun usually travels with the: afraid of the outdoors, open to the outdoors. Its natural partner is the indoors, and the pair marks a boundary rather than a landscape, so a paved city courtyard counts as much as a field. When the word turns to wild country and fresh air, it has moved into the countryside meaning.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   Open-air nature, meaning the countryside and wild places away from cities and buildings.

   He spent his retirement exploring the outdoors, from desert trails to alpine lakes.

   Outfitters in the small mountain town cater to visitors drawn to the outdoors.

   Similarwilderness, countryside, nature

   Note

   The sense with scenery in it: the outdoors people love, explore and escape to, not merely whatever lies beyond a wall. Its set phrase is the great outdoors, and God's country praises the same landscape. Unlike the plain open-air noun, it is set against the city rather than against indoors.

4. 4
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of outdoor.

   Note

   A homograph of the familiar adverb, built separately from the verb outdoor plus the ordinary -s used with he, she or it. That verb means to display a child publicly after it has been named, so a sentence like the family outdoors the child belongs to ceremony, not weather. The two words share spelling and sound, and little else.

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