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

• boon
• clubbable
• clubable
• clubby
• companionable
• convivial
• extroverted
• extraverted
• gregarious
• sociable
• social

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

The outgoing model has a small (by today's standards) 4.7-inch screen with a resolution of 1,334 by 750 pixels. —Eric Zeman, PCMAG, 14 Feb. 2025

The billionaire said the Treasury Department and DOGE had agreed to require all outgoing government payments to include a rationale in the form of a comment and to have a categorization code. —Lauren Villagran, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2025

The Mountain West is currently being sued by the Pac-12 and some of the outgoing Mountain West schools over the exit and poaching fees, which total almost $150 million. —Chris Vannini, The Athletic, 14 Feb. 2025

Liberal Party leadership candidate Ruby Dhalla's remarks come after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Canada could become the 51st state—a comment Canada's outgoing leader, Justin Trudeau, has taken seriously. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 13 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

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

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