"outsource" means: To transfer the management or day-to-day execution of a business function to a third-party service provider.. This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
outsource
(chiefly, US, business, management, transitive) To transfer the management or day-to-day execution of a business function to a third-party service provider.
Seen in the wild
Giving 200 word long daily affirmations to my lying machine that i outsource all my cognitive function to so that maybe the lying machine won't keep lying to me
the reason that AI is so popular amongst devs (and execs) is that it allows devs to focus their energies on the exons - the stuff that matters and makes money - and outsource the intron work to something else
this seems like ur admitting it isn't a good idea to outsource key strategic industries to either foreign powers or private companies w profit motives lest u be held hostage by them, yet ur seemingly arguing it's good…
📢 Following persistent underperformance, the asset manager will outsource its global equity strategy to quant specialist Vinva.
Me: This was a political problem, all of us failed. Whiners: Wah wah wah wah, I want to outsource it to lawyers so I don't have to get off my ass. That's how you lose. And I promise you, the far right did not outso…
Definitions
(chiefly, US, business, management, transitive) To transfer the management or day-to-day execution of a business function to a third-party service provider.
They decided to outsource the design and manufacture of the system to a vendor.
"outsource" means: To transfer the management or day-to-day execution of a business function to a third-party service provider.. This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
"outsource" means: To transfer the management or day-to-day execution of a business function to a third-party service provider.. Register: neutral, standard English, usable in most everyday contexts. Note the regional or dialect label (US) — usage may sound odd outside that variety. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
“Giving 200 word long daily affirmations to my lying machine that i outsource all my cognitive function to so that maybe the lying machine won't keep lying to me”
— Bluesky· May 2026“the reason that AI is so popular amongst devs (and execs) is that it allows devs to focus their energies on the exons - the stuff that matters and makes money - and outsource the intron work to something else”
— Bluesky· May 2026“this seems like ur admitting it isn't a good idea to outsource key strategic industries to either foreign powers or private companies w profit motives lest u be held hostage by them, yet ur seemingly arguing it's good to do so??”
— Bluesky· May 2026“📢 Following persistent underperformance, the asset manager will outsource its global equity strategy to quant specialist Vinva.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Me: This was a political problem, all of us failed. Whiners: Wah wah wah wah, I want to outsource it to lawyers so I don't have to get off my ass. That's how you lose. And I promise you, the far right did not outsource.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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🗺️About Regional & Other slang
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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(business) To outsource (an employee, position, or function) to India, especially to Bengaluru.
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(transitive) To release.
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(transitive) To place outside, to remove, particularly.
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(ambitransitive, British, informal) To pay out, to hand over.
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(transitive, slang) (to survey (a building or other location) surreptitiously, as in preparation for a robbery).