outlet
noun
Simple meaning
A wall-mounted socket connected to an electrical power supply.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
owtletSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈaʊtlɛt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A wall-mounted socket connected to an electrical power supply, at which current can be taken to run electrical devices.
A shop that sells the products of a particular manufacturer or supplier.
Something which allows for the release of one's desires.
A vent or similar passage to allow the escape of something.
A river that runs out of a lake.
Receptacle providing a place in a wiring system where current can be taken to run electrical devices
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A wall-mounted socket connected to an electrical power supply, at which current can be taken to run electrical devices.
Used this way, outlet is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- wall socket , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use outlet
- “She had no other outlet for her feelings.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Place
Activity
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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
An electric socket.
Receptacle providing a place in a wiring system where current can be taken to run electrical devices.
A mains electricity power point mounted in or on a wall inside a dwelling or other building.
The action or an instance of leaving any state or condition.
The catch on an electromagnetic circuit breaker for a motor, triggered in the event of an overload.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Receptacle consisting of the metal box designed for connections to a wiring system.
Receptacle providing a place in a wiring system where current can be taken to run electrical devices.
Receptacle providing a place in a wiring system where current can be taken to run electrical devices.
A place of business for retailing goods.
Tingling sensations in the fingers.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- fccnoun
- reservoirnoun
- downstreamadverb
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.