Outer

How to spell outer

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce outer

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does outer mean?

1. adjectiveSituated on the outside or further from the centre.

Outer in a sentence

• The satellite drifted into outer space far beyond the moon.

• She peeled away the outer layer of the packaging before reading the label.

Where does outer come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grew directly out of the native English adverb 'out', which in Old English was 'ut', meaning 'away from the inside'. 'Outer' began life as a comparative form: Old English 'utor' meant 'more out', and it slowly settled into use as an adjective describing the part that lies further from the centre. Because it is a thoroughly Germanic word rather than a Latin or French borrowing, its spelling stayed simple and regular, just the familiar 'out' with the comparative ending '-er' attached. The same 'out' root sits inside a whole family of everyday words such as 'outside', 'outward' and 'utter' (which is literally 'more out'). The only mild spelling trap is purely about meaning: 'outer' sounds close to 'utter' and 'udder', so it is the choice of word, not the letters, that trips writers up.

How the word is built

• out (away, outside)
• -er (comparative/adjectival suffix)