OUTLET

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does outlet mean? 

• OUTLET (noun)
  The noun OUTLET has 4 senses:

1. a place of business for retailing goods

2. receptacle providing a place in a wiring system where current can be taken to run electrical devices

3. an opening that permits escape or release

4. activity that frees or expresses creative energy or emotion

  Familiarity information: OUTLET used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OUTLET (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A place of business for retailing goods

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

mercantile establishment; outlet; retail store; sales outlet

Hypernyms ("outlet" is a kind of...):

business establishment; place of business (an establishment (a factory or an assembly plant or retail store or warehouse etc.) where business is conducted, goods are made or stored or processed or where services are rendered)

Meronyms (parts of "outlet"):

merchandise; product; ware (commodities offered for sale)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "outlet"):

country store; general store; trading post (a retail store serving a sparsely populated region; usually stocked with a wide variety of merchandise)

department store; emporium (a large retail store organized into departments offering a variety of merchandise; commonly part of a retail chain)

discount house; discount store; discounter; wholesale house (a sales outlet offering goods at a discounted price)

market; market place; marketplace; mart (an area in a town where a public mercantile establishment is set up)

center; mall; plaza; shopping center; shopping centre; shopping mall (mercantile establishment consisting of a carefully landscaped complex of shops representing leading merchandisers; usually includes restaurants and a convenient parking area; a modern version of the traditional marketplace)

shop; store (a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services)

strip mall (a mercantile establishment consisting of a row of various stores and business and restaurants along a road or busy street; usually opening on a parking lot)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Receptacle providing a place in a wiring system where current can be taken to run electrical devices

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

electric outlet; electric receptacle; electrical outlet; outlet; wall plug; wall socket

Hypernyms ("outlet" is a kind of...):

receptacle (an electrical (or electronic) fitting that is connected to a source of power and equipped to receive an insert)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "outlet"):

point; power point (a wall socket)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An opening that permits escape or release

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

exit; issue; outlet; way out

Context example:

the canyon had only one issue

Hypernyms ("outlet" is a kind of...):

opening (a vacant or unobstructed space that is man-made)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "outlet"):

outfall (the outlet of a river or drain or other source of water)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Activity that frees or expresses creative energy or emotion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

outlet; release; vent

Context example:

he gave vent to his anger

Hypernyms ("outlet" is a kind of...):

activity (any specific behavior)

 Context examples 

The researchers also discovered major differences in the amount of the toxic product detected, depending on the type of outlet selling the socks.

(Nine out of ten pairs of baby socks on the market contain traces of bisphenol A and parabens, University of Granada)

But they also have an unusual characteristic important to DBC research; they are closed basins with no outlets.

(Antarctic lakes are a repository for ancient soot, NSF)

There was nobody about, and I made search for any further outlet, but there was none.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

It was as though he were bursting with pent energy which must find an outlet somehow.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

At any rate, it shall be strong enough to search—inquire—to grope an outlet from this cloud of doubt, and find the open day of certainty.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Besides, Kiche was well-nigh forgotten; and the chief outlet of expression that remained to him was in the allegiance he tendered the gods he had accepted as masters.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

But it is also possible that menu labelling could change what outlets serve, as nutritionally-poor food could lead to bad publicity.

(Menu labelling linked to less fat and salt in food, University of Cambridge)

These defects include tricuspid atresia, hypoplastic left or right heart syndrome, double outlet right ventricle, double inlet left ventricle, and other forms of single ventricle defects.

(Common Ventricle Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)

It is the primary outlet for the 810-square kilometer Yakutat ice field, which drains into Harlequin Lake and, ultimately, the Gulf of Alaska.

(Retreat of Yakutat Glacier, NASA)

A rare neoplastic syndrome characterized by obstruction of the thoracic outlet leading to compression of the brachial plexus and vessels within.

(Pancoast Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)