outlying

adjective

out·​ly·​ing ˈau̇t-ˌlī-iŋ How to pronounce outlying (audio)
: remote from a center or main body
outlying areas

Examples of outlying in a Sentence

the outlying areas of the city
Recent Examples on the Web The managers expressed their gratitude to the firefighters who helped save the ranch homestead along with other outlying homes and buildings. Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Feb. 2024 Like Yitzhak Rabin, Mr. Sharon wanted to stay in the West Bank but bring outlying settlers into three defensible settlement blocs, removing the outposts that were overextending the resources of the army, Mr. Abramovich said. Steven Erlanger Sergey Ponomarev, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2024 When Ukrainian radars or NATO satellites detect incoming missiles, the 7th Brigade scatters its bombers to outlying airfields or, potentially, even roads and highways. David Axe, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 In other words, the moratorium on new development that relied on groundwater would be extended from just the far West Valley to the entirety of the Phoenix metropolitan area and affect every outlying town without access to water from the Colorado or one of Arizona’s smaller rivers. Kyle Paoletta, The New Republic, 30 Oct. 2023 Hong Kong/Taipei CNN — King Xia, a Taiwanese tourist boat, was taking 23 passengers on a journey around Taiwan’s outlying Kinmen Islands just miles from China’s southeastern coast when it was intercepted by two Chinese coast guard vessels. Nectar Gan, CNN, 20 Feb. 2024 The population balloons on weekends when people from outlying areas rumble into town in heavy-duty trucks to stock up on supplies or eat at a chain restaurant. USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024 Lows range from the low 20s in our outlying areas to near 30 downtown. Jason Samenow, Washington Post, 5 Feb. 2024 His stance is perhaps an outlying one in a nation where some social movements, like Black Lives Matter, have only just begun to make waves. Anthony Trotter, ABC News, 2 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'outlying.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of outlying was in 1647

Dictionary Entries Near outlying

Cite this Entry

“Outlying.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outlying. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

outlying

adjective
out·​ly·​ing ˈau̇t-ˌlī-iŋ How to pronounce outlying (audio)
: being far from a center or main body
an outlying suburb

More from Merriam-Webster on outlying

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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