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

While the outgoing bZ4X felt sluggish, the bZ flips the script with brisk acceleration in both single- and dual-motor configurations. —ABC News, 3 June 2026

Trump was the first outgoing president in 150 years not to do so for his election opponent. —Stylecaster Editors, StyleCaster, 3 June 2026

The fact that no player had posted a tribute to the outgoing coach had raised some eyebrows until Van Dijk posted his own brief missive on social media. —Simon Hughes, New York Times, 3 June 2026

Tony Thurmond, outgoing state schools chief and a candidate in the governor race, has come out in opposition to the plan. —Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 3 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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