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

If at first teachers worried about students using chatbots to write essays, now new agentic tools such as Claude Code are allowing students to outsource even more of their work to the machines. —Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2026

That research also provides some experimental examination of when and why people are willing to outsource their critical thinking to AI, and how factors like time pressure and external incentives can affect that decision. —Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 3 Apr. 2026

Both companies outsource installation to third-party contractors, which can lead to varied customer experiences. —Dan Simms, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026

Effective leaders do not outsource judgment to groupthink. —Gary Shapiro, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026

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