outgo

SayOWT-gohUS/ˈaʊtˌɡoʊ//ˈaʊtɡəʊ/

As a verbowt-GOH

Pluraloutgos, outgoes

Verboutgoes, outgoing, outwent, outgone

9 meanings of outgo

Practice

1
nouncountable
Money that a person or business spends or pays out.
Their monthly outgo was higher than the money coming in.
We need to cut our outgo if we want to save anything.
Similaroutgoing
Oppositeincome, receipts, takings
Note
2
noununcountable
The act of going out, or a time when something goes out.
Like the way water flows out when you pull the plug.
The slow outgo of the tide left the boats stranded on the mud.
She watched the steady outgo of guests at the end of the party.
Similardeparture, exit, outflow
Oppositearrival, entrance, influx, inflow
Note
3
verbdialectalintransitive
To go out or set off from a place.
Like leaving your house to begin a trip.
Each dawn the shepherds outgo to the high pastures.
We outgo at first light tomorrow.
Similardepart, leave
Note

4
verbarchaictransitive
To do more or better than another person or thing.
Like running past someone in a race.
Her kindness outgoes that of anyone I know.
As the infamy of the conduct of Rhode Island outgoes all precedent, so the influence of her counsels can be of no prejudice.
1788, George Washington, “Gᵒ. Washington to Jonathⁿ. Trumbull Esqʳ.”Here, outgoes means goes beyond or does more than anything before.
Similaroutdo
Note
5
verbobsoleteintransitive
To go too far, or to try to do more than you can.
But John / (Our Friend) Molleſſon, / Thought us to have out-gone / VVith a quaint Invention.
1668, John Denham, “On My Lord Croft’s and My Journey into Poland, from whence We Brought 10000 l. for His Majesty by the Decimation of His…Here, out-gone means gone too far, or tried more than we could manage.
Note
6
verbobsoletetransitive
To move faster than someone or something and get ahead.
Like passing another runner and pulling ahead.
The hound easily outgoes the fleeing hare.
VVhat, ſhall vve talk further vvith him? or out-go him at preſent? and ſo leave him to think of vvhat he hath heard already; and then ſtop again for him aftervvards, and ſee if by degrees vve can do any good of him?
1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This WorldHere, out-go means to walk faster than him and leave him behind.
Similaroutrun, pass, outdistance
Note
7
verbobsoletetransitive
To go through or live through something.
So ſince the vvinged God his planet cleare, / began in me to moue, one yeare is ſpent: / the vvhich doth longer vnto me appeare, / then al thoſe fourty vvhich my life outvvent.
1595, Edmund Spenser, “[Amoretti.] Sonnet LX”Here, outwent means lived through, so these are the forty years he has lived.
Note
8
nounobsoletecountable
An opening or path that lets something flow out.
Like the drain at the bottom of a sink.
The pond's only outgo was a narrow stream.
The great Salt Lake of Utah is its principal body of water, and this has no visible outgo, though richly fed from various quarters.
1869, Samuel Bowles, “Introductory Chapter”Here, outgo means an opening or way out for water to flow.
Note
9
nounobsoleteuncountable
Liquid or other matter that has flowed out from somewhere.
Like water spilling out from an overflowing bucket.
The outgo from the spring filled the lower pool.
And the arms of the scale of intake and outgo must likewise remain at level, and they do so maintain balance in health.
1912, Linda Burfield Hazzard, “When and Why to Fast”Here, outgo means what flows out of the body.
Similaroutflow, issue
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of outgo apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

The verb comes from Middle English outgon and Old English utgan, meaning 'to go out'. It is simply out- plus go. The noun is out- plus go, and the 'cost' sense was probably modelled on 'income'.