Outlet

How to spell outlet

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce outlet

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does outlet mean?

1. nounA way of expressing or releasing energy, emotion, or talent.
2. nounA shop or store, especially one selling goods directly from a manufacturer at reduced prices.
3. nounA point on a wall where an electrical device can be plugged in to draw power.
4. nounAn opening or pipe through which liquid or gas escapes from a container or system.

Outlet in a sentence

• Painting became her main creative outlet after a stressful week at work.

• They drove to the designer outlet to buy discounted winter coats.

• He plugged the charger into the nearest wall outlet behind the desk.

• The plumber checked the drain outlet for a blockage under the sink.

• The weekend football match gave him a healthy outlet for his frustration.

• The company opened a new outlet on the edge of town.

Where does outlet come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Outlet is a transparent native English compound, built straightforwardly from the adverb 'out' and the verb 'let', the latter descending from the Old English lætan, which meant to allow, to permit, or to let pass. Put together, the literal idea is simply 'a place where something is let out', and that is exactly how the word first appeared in Middle English around the thirteenth century, describing a passage, vent, or way out for water or air. From that concrete sense of an outflowing opening, the meaning branched in several directions: a channel through which feelings or energy can be released, an electrical point from which power is drawn (chiefly in American usage), and a shop through which a manufacturer 'lets out' its goods to the public. Because every part of the word is plain English, the spelling holds no real surprises; the only thing to remember is that it stays a single solid word, never 'out let'.

How the word is built

• out- (out, away)
• let (from Old English lætan: to allow to pass)