outgoing

1 of 2

adjective

out·​go·​ing ˈau̇t-ˌgō-iŋ 

-ˌgȯ(-)iŋ

1

a

: going away : departing

an outgoing ship

b

: retiring or withdrawing from a place or position

the outgoing president

c

: directed to an intended recipient

outgoing mail

2

: openly friendly and responsive : extroverted

His outgoing personality made him popular at school.

outgoingness noun

outgoing

2 of 2

present participle of outgo entry 1

Synonyms of outgoing

Adjective

• social
• friendly
• hospitable
• extroverted
• gregarious
• spirited

Examples of outgoing in a Sentence

Adjective

Outgoing mail goes in this box.

a salesman whose aggressively outgoing personality could sometimes be overbearing

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Election officials would also have to submit their outgoing and return ballot-envelope designs to USPS for review. — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026

Matthew Friend, Nike’s outgoing chief financial officer, told Wall Street that the company faces several headwinds unrelated to consumer demand or price sensitivity, including evolving tariff policies and geopolitical disruption in the Middle East. — Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 25 Aug. 2026

Reductions Many of the valuation cuts were fiercely opposed by Fritz Kaegi, the outgoing Cook County assessor. — Alex Nitkin, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026

Investigators said the most recent outgoing message was to a contact identified as Williams. — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for outgoing

• blowing
• boing
• bowing
• crowing
• flowing
• glowing
• going
• growing
• hoeing
• knowing
• lowing
• rowing

Kids Definition

outgoing

adjective

out·​go·​ing ˈau̇t-ˌgō-iŋ 

1

a

: going out : departing

outgoing tide

b

: retiring from a position

the outgoing governor

2

: being at ease and friendly when dealing with others

an outgoing person