outlying

adjective

out·​ly·​ing ˈau̇t-ˌlī-iŋ 

: remote from a center or main body

outlying areas

Examples of outlying in a Sentence

the outlying areas of the city

Recent Examples on the Web

All those entities hoovered up the dollars PG&E had available to pay out victims of the Camp Fire, and other blazes including the deadly 2017 North Bay fires that devastated Santa Rosa and outlying communities. — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 11 Sep. 2026

The atrocities committed in March 2022 by Russian troops at Bucha, an outlying area of Kyiv, were intensely reported at the time, notably by the New York Times. — Nick Holdstock, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026

Brooklyn has tried to focus retail and service businesses along its Route 6 corridor, but the appeal for new market-rate housing is often strongest in outlying areas of fields, woods or former farmland. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 20 Aug. 2026

Early Sunday morning, the town website recommended that people in three outlying districts near the border leave the area temporarily because officials couldn’t rule out health risks caused by smoke. — ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for outlying

• buying
• crying
• drying
• dyeing
• dying
• flying
• frying
• lying
• plying
• prying
• shying
• sighing

Kids Definition

outlying

adjective

out·​ly·​ing ˈau̇t-ˌlī-iŋ 

: being far from a center or main body

an outlying suburb