outgoing

adjective

out·​go·​ing ˈau̇t-ˌgō-iŋ 

-ˌgȯ(-)iŋ

1

a

: going away : departing

an outgoing ship

b

: retiring or withdrawing from a place or position

the outgoing president

c

: directed to an intended recipient

outgoing mail

2

: openly friendly and responsive : extroverted

His outgoing personality made him popular at school.

outgoingness noun

Synonyms

• social
• friendly
• hospitable
• extroverted

Examples of outgoing in a Sentence

Outgoing mail goes in this box.

a salesman whose aggressively outgoing personality could sometimes be overbearing

Recent Examples on the Web

All decisions were made under Amazon MGM Studios’ outgoing Head of Global TV Vernon Sanders; the last three were finalized after Peter Friedlander had been announced as his successor. —Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025

The reason is outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May, sits in a governor’s seat that has only two years remaining. —Steve Liesman, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2025

In spring 2024, Castiglione called outgoing Philadelphia Eagles vice president Jake Rosenberg to see if the former salary cap expert would be interested in coming to Norman to help Oklahoma navigate the financial changes within college sports. —Chris Vannini, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025

To that end, it's got the same excellent engine as the outgoing model. —Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for outgoing

• bestowing
• churchgoing
• elbowing
• fallowing
• farrowing
• foregoing
• forgoing
• ongoing
• outflowing
• outgrowing
• seagoing
• tiptoeing

Kids Definition

outgoing

adjective

out·​go·​ing ˈau̇t-ˌgō-iŋ 

1

a

: going out : departing

outgoing tide

b

: retiring from a position

the outgoing governor

2

: being at ease and friendly when dealing with others

an outgoing person