outsource

verb

out·​source ˈau̇t-ˌsȯrs 

outsourced; outsourcing; outsources

transitive + intransitive

: to procure (something, such as some goods or services needed by a business or organization) from outside sources and especially from foreign or nonunion suppliers : to contract for work, jobs, etc., to be done by outside or foreign workers

decided to outsource some back-office operations

Some services and aspects of production were outsourced to cut costs.

Firms outsource to capitalize on their strengths while minimizing business activities that are not core functions.

—John K. Borchardt

compare insource

Examples of outsource in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead, the smartest organizations outsource the complexity so their internal teams can stay focused on core business functions. —John Rubinetti, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025

As such, incorporating Tillman may require Pochettino to outsource a greater amount of chance-generation and upfield progression to other zones. —Jeff Rueter, New York Times, 19 May 2025

Companies like Nvidia outsource the production of their chips to TSMC, which also produces chips for other companies like Google and AMD. —Molly Taft, Wired News, 22 May 2025

In a few years, AI models (paired with formal verification systems to check for accuracy) might be able to prove these lemmas automatically, in the same way that mathematicians currently outsource simple arithmetic to computer programs. —Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 30 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for outsource

• concourse
• divorce
• endorse
• enforce
• indorse
• midcourse
• perforce
• racecourse
• racehorse
• remorse
• seahorse
• workforce