outset

noun

out·​set ˈau̇t-ˌset 

: beginning, start

Synonyms of outset

• beginning
• start
• inception
• onset
• commencement

Examples of outset in a Sentence

There have been problems with the project from the outset.

From its very outset, the company has produced the highest quality products.

He made it clear at the outset that he is not going to quit his job.

She set high goals for herself at the outset of her career.

Recent Examples on the Web

Company officials characterized the pace as methodical at the outset, followed by an aggressive push toward commercial licensing. — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2026

At the outset of the Civil War, most Southern Jews supported the Confederacy, and approximately 2,000 to 3,000 Jewish men enlisted in its army. — Ashley Walters, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026

The narrator of this form-bending novel is a man who shares the author’s name and profession, and who, at the story’s outset, is the victim of a hit-and-run. — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

The company did not explain its decision, but the antibiotic — a three-drug combination injection — was pegged from the outset as a treatment of last resort by the Food and Drug Administration in hopes of mitigating antibiotic resistance. — Ed Silverman, STAT, 28 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1759, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for outset

• abet
• asset
• baguette
• banquette
• barbette
• beget
• beset
• binet
• briquette
• brunet
• brunette
• burette

Kids Definition

outset

noun

out·​set ˈau̇t-ˌset 

: beginning sense 1, start