Definition

1. Noun:
   • A short trip or excursion taken for pleasure or recreation: An "outing" typically refers to a brief journey or social activity, often outdoors, undertaken for enjoyment, leisure, or a special purpose.
   • A public appearance or participation in an event, especially one that reveals a personal characteristic or affiliation: In modern usage, "outing" can also refer to the act of making public a fact, especially about a person's sexual orientation, that was previously private or secret.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Trip/Excursion):
  • The company organized a team outing to the botanical gardens.
  • Our family outing to the beach was spoiled by the rain.
• Noun (Public Disclosure):
  • The journalist was criticized for the outing of the celebrity.
  • He feared the outing of his political views to his conservative family.

Advanced Usage

• "A day out": This phrase is a close synonym for "outing" in its recreational sense, emphasizing a day spent away from home.
  • We're planning a day out in the countryside.
• "To be on an outing": Describes the state of participating in such a trip.
  • The children are on a school outing to the museum.

Variants and Related Words

• Out (verb, adjective, adverb, preposition): The base word, with many meanings including moving outside or being revealed.
• Outdoors (noun/adverb): Refers to the open air or outside environment, which is often the setting for an outing.

Synonyms

• Excursion: A short journey or trip, especially one taken for leisure.
• Trip: A journey or excursion, often for a specific purpose.
• Jaunt: A short excursion for pleasure.

Related Phrases

• Family outing: A trip or activity undertaken by a family unit.
  • Sunday is usually reserved for a family outing.
• School outing: An educational or recreational trip organized by a school.
  • The school outing to the science center was very informative.

Idioms

• A day's outing: An idiom emphasizing an outing that lasts for a full day.
  • Fishing by the lake made for a perfect day's outing.

Noun

1. a day devoted to an outdoor social gathering
2. a journey taken for pleasure
   • many summer excursions to the shore
   • it was merely a pleasure trip
   • after cautious sashays into the field