outgoing

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

Synonyms of outgoing

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

Examples of outgoing in a Sentence

Outgoing mail goes in this box.

a salesman whose aggressively outgoing personality could sometimes be overbearing

Recent Examples on the Web

Red Flags The red flags started back in 2011, when Bank of America’s monitoring system noticed an outgoing wire of $97,900 to al-Zeydi’s Sberbank account, and another wire for $26,000 to Miriam and Stanley Baretz. —Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025

Several Supreme Court justices came to hear him; so did the outgoing president, James Monroe, and the incoming president, John Quincy Adams. —Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025

And Mamdani’s promised rent freeze faces multiple hurdles — including the possibility that outgoing Mayor Eric Adams will stack the Rent Guidelines Board with his own appointees who won’t go along with a freeze. —Sydney Lake, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025

Burroughs, who did not seek another at-large term, ran to replace outgoing Mayor Tyrone Garner alongside five other candidates but lost in the primary. —Sofi Zeman, Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for outgoing

• bestowing
• churchgoing
• elbowing
• fallowing
• farrowing
• foregoing
• forgoing
• ongoing
• outflowing
• outgrowing
• seagoing
• tiptoeing

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