outlet

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈaʊtlɛt/ See IPA manual

Freq #12919

Meanings

1

noun
A point on a wall where you plug in electrical devices.

I need to find an outlet to charge my phone.
2

noun
A shop or place where goods are sold, often at lower prices.

They bought the shoes at a factory outlet.
3

noun
A way of expressing or releasing feelings or energy.

Painting became an outlet for her stress.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a point on a wall where you... socketwall socket

2 noun · a shop or place where goods... retail store

3 noun · a way of expressing or... release

Word family

Forms outlets

Derived forms multioutletnonoutlet

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

electrical outlet
a socket where a device can be connected to an electricity supply

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English outlete, outeleate, ut-lete, derived from Middle English outleten (“to allow, let out, emit”), equivalent to out- + let. Compare West Frisian útlit (“outlet”), Dutch uitlaat (“outlet”), German Auslass (“outlet”).

outlete Middle English outleten Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# outlet

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈaʊtlɛt/
**Frequency rank:** 12919

## Meanings
1. A point on a wall where you plug in electrical devices.
2. A shop or place where goods are sold, often at lower prices.
3. A way of expressing or releasing feelings or energy.

## Examples
- I need to find an outlet to charge my phone.
- They bought the shoes at a factory outlet.
- Painting became an outlet for her stress.

## Derived Forms
- multioutlet
- nonoutlet

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: outlete
- Root: outleten

## Etymology
From Middle English outlete, outeleate, ut-lete, derived from Middle English outleten (“to allow, let out, emit”), equivalent to out- + let. Compare West Frisian útlit (“outlet”), Dutch uitlaat (“outlet”), German Auslass (“outlet”).

## AI Etymology
Outlet comes from Middle English outlete, outeleate, ut-lete, derived from Middle English outleten (“to allow, let out, emit”), equivalent to out- + let. Compare West Frisian útlit (“outlet”), Dutch uitlaat (“outlet”), German Auslass (“outlet”). The historical chain includes Middle English outlete and Middle English outleten. Modern senses include a point on a wall where you plug in electrical devices and a shop or place where goods are sold, often at lower prices. The wider word family includes derivatives such as multioutlet and nonoutlet.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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