outlet

English

An electrical outlet (Japanese).

Etymology

From Middle English outlete, outeleate, ut-lete, derived from Middle English outleten (“to allow, let out, emit”), equivalent to out- +‎ let. Compare West Frisian útlit (“outlet”), Dutch uitlaat (“outlet”), German Auslass (“outlet”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaʊtlɛt/, /ˈaʊtlɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

outlet (plural outlets)

1. A vent or similar passage to allow the escape of something.
2. Something which allows for the release of one's desires.

   Jamie found doing martial arts was a great outlet for her stress.

   • 1865, Walt Whitman, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, in Sequel to Drum-Taps: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d and other poems:

     Song of the bleeding throat, / Death’s outlet song of life, (for well dear brother I know, / If thou wast not granted to sing thou would’st surely die.)

3. A river that runs out of a lake.
4. A shop that sells the products of a particular manufacturer or supplier.
5. A wall-mounted socket connected to an electrical power supply, at which current can be taken to run electrical devices.

   I had to move the cupboard to get to the power outlet.

Derived terms

• media outlet
• no outlet
• thoracic outlet syndrome

Translations

vent

• Bulgarian: отдушник (bg) m (otdušnik)
• Catalan: sortida (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 出口 (zh) (chūkǒu)

• Dutch: uitlaat (nl) m
• Finnish: luukku (fi), aukko (fi)
• French: conduit (fr) f
• German: Ausgang (de) m, Auslass (de) m
• Japanese: 出口 (ja) (でぐち, deguchi)
• Korean: 출구(出口) (ko) (chulgu)
• Latin: ēmissārium n
• Maori: putanga
• Polish: wyjście (pl) n
• Portuguese: ventilação (pt)
• Russian: вы́ход (ru) m (výxod), отду́шина (ru) f (otdúšina)
• Spanish: salida (es) f

release of desires

• Bulgarian: отдушник (bg) m (otdušnik)
• Finnish: helpotus (fi)
• French: exutoire (fr) m, issue (fr) f
• Japanese: 捌け口 (ja) (はけぐち, hakeguchi)
• Polish: ulga (pl) f
• Russian: вы́ход (ru) m (výxod), отду́шина (ru) f (otdúšina)
• Spanish: desahogo (es)

river

• Catalan: desguàs (ca) m
• Finnish: laskujoki (fi)
• French: exutoire (fr) m, dérivatif (fr) m
• Japanese: 流出河川 (りゅうしゅつかせん, ryūshutsu-kasen)
• Maori: kōtore, pūahatanga, tāwaha
• Polish: odpływ (pl) m
• Russian: сток (ru) m (stok)
• Spanish: río que nace en un lago f

shop

• Bulgarian: промоционален магазин m (promocionalen magazin)
• Catalan: punt de venda m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 折扣中心 (zhékòuzhōngxīn), 暢貨中心／畅货中心 (chànghuòzhōngxīn) (Taiwan)

• Finnish: liike (fi)
• French: magasin d’usine (fr) m, franchise (fr) f
• German: Direktverkauf m, Werksverkauf m, Direktvermarkter m
• Japanese: 直販店 (ちょくはんてん, chokuhanten), アウトレット (autoretto)
• Polish: wyprzedaż (pl) f, zbyt (pl) m, outlet (pl) m
• Portuguese: outlet (pt) m
• Russian: торго́вая то́чка (ru) f (torgóvaja tóčka), магази́н (ru) m (magazín), а́утлет (ru) m (áutlet)
• Spanish: minorista de marca m, al-bolsillo m

wall socket — see wall socket

Anagrams

• let out, let-out

Chinese

Etymology

From English outlet.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): au¹ let⁴

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: au¹ let⁴
    • Cantonese Pinyin: au¹ let⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: eo¹ léd⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɐu̯⁵⁵ lɛːt̚²¹/

Noun

outlet

1. (Taiwan, Hong Kong) outlet mall; a mall with outlet shops (especially in tourist areas)

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English outlet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaw.tlɛt/
• Rhymes: -awtlɛt
• Syllabification: ou‧tlet

Noun

outlet m inan

1. outlet (shop)

Declension

Declension of outlet

	singular	plural
nominative	outlet	outlety
genitive	outletu	outletów
dative	outletowi	outletom
accusative	outlet	outlety
instrumental	outletem	outletami
locative	outlecie	outletach
vocative	outlecie	outlety

Further reading

• outlet in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• outlet in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English outlet.

Noun

outlet m (plural outlets)

1. outlet store

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English outlet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈautlet/ [ˈau̯.t̪let̪]
• Rhymes: -autlet

Noun

outlet m (plural outlets)

1. outlet store

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.