outsource

verb

out·​source ˈau̇t-ˌsȯrs 

outsourced; outsourcing; outsources

transitive + intransitive

: to procure (something, such as some goods or services needed by a business or organization) from outside sources and especially from foreign or nonunion suppliers : to contract for work, jobs, etc., to be done by outside or foreign workers

decided to outsource some back-office operations

Some services and aspects of production were outsourced to cut costs.

Firms outsource to capitalize on their strengths while minimizing business activities that are not core functions.

—John K. Borchardt

compare insource

Examples of outsource in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Reuters reported the story first, noting that the hacker used a combination of Claude and DeepSeek over several weeks, starting in late September, to completely outsource the intrusion attempts to AI agents. — Alan Henry, PC Magazine, 6 Nov. 2026

There’s also the question of whether people will rely on AI too much, and how to draw boundaries when figuring out which tasks to outsource to AI. — Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2026

Some promoters outsource that work to specialized contractors like Accessibility Live. — Maribeth Romslo, Rolling Stone, 1 Nov. 2026

Additionally, a growing focus on the value of time has led more Americans to outsource household tasks from grocery shopping to laundry to cleaning up after their pets. — Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for outsource

• concourse
• divorce
• endorse
• enforce
• indorse
• midcourse
• perforce
• racehorse
• remorse
• seahorse
• workforce
• workhorse