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
Delger Erdenesanaa, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024
The nation’s gross domestic product, or total economic output, likely expanded by a robust 3% in the first quarter, according to analysts’ forecasts.
—Don Lee, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
But one of the other things is that the system that is generating the output can’t audit itself.
—Jason Del Rey, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
Breast milk output does depend on a secure fit, so the output may vary for some people.
—Simone Scully, Parents, 16 Apr. 2024
The Lyrids, with meteors zooming across the sky at speeds reaching 29 miles per second (47 kilometers per second), are known to produce intense bursts of up to 100 meteors per hour, but that kind of output isn’t expected this year.
—George Dvorsky / Gizmodo, Quartz, 16 Apr. 2024
In terms of his previous output, Challengers sits closer to the moody sensuousness of A Bigger Splash than to the dizzying passion of Call Me by Your Name or the dangerous romantic spell of Bones and All.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2024
When input in the form of light flows into these optical neural networks, the output light encodes data from the complex operations performed within these devices.
—IEEE Spectrum, 12 Apr. 2024
The team showed the network examples of adding two numbers, a and b, to produce an output, c, in modulo 97 (equivalent to a clock face with 97 numbers).
—Anil Ananthaswamy, Quanta Magazine, 12 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
The country had a lot of hydropower, but years of drought in the 1990s and 2000s slashed the dams’ output.
—Delger Erdenesanaa, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024
The nation’s gross domestic product, or total economic output, likely expanded by a robust 3% in the first quarter, according to analysts’ forecasts.
—Don Lee, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024
But one of the other things is that the system that is generating the output can’t audit itself.
—Jason Del Rey, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
Breast milk output does depend on a secure fit, so the output may vary for some people.
—Simone Scully, Parents, 16 Apr. 2024
The Lyrids, with meteors zooming across the sky at speeds reaching 29 miles per second (47 kilometers per second), are known to produce intense bursts of up to 100 meteors per hour, but that kind of output isn’t expected this year.
—George Dvorsky / Gizmodo, Quartz, 16 Apr. 2024
In terms of his previous output, Challengers sits closer to the moody sensuousness of A Bigger Splash than to the dizzying passion of Call Me by Your Name or the dangerous romantic spell of Bones and All.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2024
When input in the form of light flows into these optical neural networks, the output light encodes data from the complex operations performed within these devices.
—IEEE Spectrum, 12 Apr. 2024
The team showed the network examples of adding two numbers, a and b, to produce an output, c, in modulo 97 (equivalent to a clock face with 97 numbers).
—Anil Ananthaswamy, Quanta Magazine, 12 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.
Dictionary Entries Near output
Cite this Entry
“Output.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/output. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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