out·put
ˈau̇t-ˌpu̇t 
1
: something produced: such as
a
: mineral, agricultural, or industrial production
steel output
b
: mental or artistic production
literary output
c
: the amount produced by a person in a given time
d
: power or energy produced or delivered by a machine or system (as for storage or for conversion in kind or in characteristics)
generator output
solar X-ray output
e
: the information produced by a computer
2
: the act, process, or an instance of producing
3
: the terminal for the output on an electrical device
Synonyms
Examples of output in a Sentence
Noun
stars with large energy outputs
The computer's output is shown on this screen.
outputs of up to 400 watts
the television's video and audio outputs
Verb
Computers output data very quickly.
Recent Examples on the Web
Vittoria Elliott, WIRED, 10 Apr. 2024
Sport mode stiffens the suspension, lowers the ride height just over .5 inches, and delivers 100 percent of the e-motors’ output, noticeably sharpening the response to the accelerator.
—Angus MacKenzie, Robb Report, 10 Apr. 2024
The 36-year-old’s most recent musical output came with a pair of singles in late 2022 for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 9 Apr. 2024
The Saudis can also ramp up output at short notice, to more than 12 million barrels a day, if the world needs it—something no other country can do.
—Vivienne Walt, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024
And there is a spectrum of usability of those outputs right now.
—Jackie Snow, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
Today, manufacturing accounts for a smaller share of the world’s output, and China already does more than a third of it.
—Patricia Cohen, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
The Act supports millions of jobs, has helped launch over 17,000 start-ups, and has contributed around $2 trillion to U.S. output.
—Andrei Iancu, Orange County Register, 1 Apr. 2024
Expansion in manufacturers’ output and new orders accelerated last month, the PMI survey showed.
—CNN, 1 Apr. 2024
Matt Day, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2024
Named after a star in Chinese mythology that represents a weaver girl, the company’s Vega machine outputs tubes of fabric that can be joined together into garments like pants and shirts.
—Alden Wicker, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024
The new Pro version has a larger 150W GaN power supply and is capable of outputting up to 96W of power to the host device.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
That discharge is measured, and the test ends when the battery can no longer output enough energy to maintain 61 mph (98.17 km/h).
—Evan Williams, Ars Technica, 2 Jan. 2024
Nomad This charger packs two USB-C ports, one of which can output 65 watts when used alone.
—Louryn Strampe, WIRED, 27 Nov. 2023
Elsewhere in the update notes, Valve points out that the Steam Deck LCD can now output full HDR and variable refresh rate content to an external monitor, even though those features aren't supported on the portable screen itself.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 17 Nov. 2023
But there is already an event camera called DAVIS that outputs both frames and events between the frames.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Oct. 2023
In the latter, an influential public key encryption algorithm developed in 1982 by Shafi Goldwasser and Silvio Micali hinges on multiplying two large primes p and q together and outputting the result, N, along with a number, x, which is not a square modulo N.
—Quanta Magazine, 1 Nov. 2023
Noun
But many of these systems are still nascent, and watermarking a chatbot’s outputs is only useful if government and local officials have the technology and training necessary on their end to properly scan for and identify the watermark.
—Vittoria Elliott, WIRED, 10 Apr. 2024
Sport mode stiffens the suspension, lowers the ride height just over .5 inches, and delivers 100 percent of the e-motors’ output, noticeably sharpening the response to the accelerator.
—Angus MacKenzie, Robb Report, 10 Apr. 2024
The 36-year-old’s most recent musical output came with a pair of singles in late 2022 for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 9 Apr. 2024
The Saudis can also ramp up output at short notice, to more than 12 million barrels a day, if the world needs it—something no other country can do.
—Vivienne Walt, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024
And there is a spectrum of usability of those outputs right now.
—Jackie Snow, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
Today, manufacturing accounts for a smaller share of the world’s output, and China already does more than a third of it.
—Patricia Cohen, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
The Act supports millions of jobs, has helped launch over 17,000 start-ups, and has contributed around $2 trillion to U.S. output.
—Andrei Iancu, Orange County Register, 1 Apr. 2024
Expansion in manufacturers’ output and new orders accelerated last month, the PMI survey showed.
—CNN, 1 Apr. 2024
Verb
Such tools are an application of generative AI, systems that consider input such as a text prompt and use it to output new content.
—Matt Day, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2024
Named after a star in Chinese mythology that represents a weaver girl, the company’s Vega machine outputs tubes of fabric that can be joined together into garments like pants and shirts.
—Alden Wicker, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024
The new Pro version has a larger 150W GaN power supply and is capable of outputting up to 96W of power to the host device.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
That discharge is measured, and the test ends when the battery can no longer output enough energy to maintain 61 mph (98.17 km/h).
—Evan Williams, Ars Technica, 2 Jan. 2024
Nomad This charger packs two USB-C ports, one of which can output 65 watts when used alone.
—Louryn Strampe, WIRED, 27 Nov. 2023
Elsewhere in the update notes, Valve points out that the Steam Deck LCD can now output full HDR and variable refresh rate content to an external monitor, even though those features aren't supported on the portable screen itself.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 17 Nov. 2023
But there is already an event camera called DAVIS that outputs both frames and events between the frames.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Oct. 2023
In the latter, an influential public key encryption algorithm developed in 1982 by Shafi Goldwasser and Silvio Micali hinges on multiplying two large primes p and q together and outputting the result, N, along with a number, x, which is not a square modulo N.
—Quanta Magazine, 1 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'output.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near output
Cite this Entry
“Output.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/output. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
output
1 of 2 noun
out·put
ˈau̇t-ˌpu̇t
1
: something produced: as
a
: agricultural or industrial production
steel output
b
: mental or artistic production
writing output
c
: the amount produced by a person in a given time
d
: power or energy delivered or produced by a machine or system
light output of the sun
e
: the information produced by a computer
2
: a point at which something (as power, an electronic signal, or data) comes out
output
2 of 2 verb
outputted or output; outputting
: to produce as output
Medical Definition
output
noun
out·put
ˈau̇t-ˌpu̇t
: the amount of energy or matter discharged usually within a specified time by a bodily system or organ
renal output
urinary output
see cardiac output
More from Merriam-Webster on output
Nglish: Translation of output for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of output for Arabic Speakers
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