outpost

noun

out·​post ˈau̇t-ˌpōst 

1

a

: a security detachment dispatched by a main body of troops to protect it from enemy surprise

b

: a military base established by treaty or agreement in another country

2

a

: an outlying or frontier settlement

b

: an outlying branch or position of a main organization or group

Examples of outpost in a Sentence

an American outpost in Africa

The city was established as a military outpost in the 1800s.

a remote outpost of the old British Empire

Recent Examples on the Web

These were used as outposts for Egypt’s defense against incursions from the west, as well as places of exile and sometimes of escape. —Vanessa Taylor, Big Think, 25 Sep. 2025

Picture a person in a coffee shop, wearing VR goggles, working with their AI life partner on an asteroid belt outpost. —Rick Tumlinson, Space.com, 25 Sep. 2025

The restaurant has three other outposts — two in Stockton and one in Manteca. —Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2025

Later, Mackinac became a fur trading post for the French, a strategic military outpost during the Revolutionary and 1812 wars, and eventually a summer retreat for wealthy families from Chicago and Detroit. —Christine Chitnis, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1720, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for outpost

• almost
• engrossed
• foremost
• hindmost
• impost
• inmost
• lamppost
• leftmost
• necrosed
• pancoast
• rightmost
• riposte

Kids Definition

outpost

noun

out·​post ˈau̇t-ˌpōst 

1

: a guard stationed at a distance from a military force or camp

2

: the position occupied by an outpost

3

: a settlement on a frontier or in a faraway place