outdoor

outdoor — adjective

1. used outside a building, or happening there instead of indoors

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

used outside a building, or happening there instead of indoors

Example

The cafe set outdoor tables under the trees for dinner.

used before nouns: outdoor + furniture

An outdoor concert filled the square with music at sunset.

collocation: outdoor concert

Common collocations
  • outdoor concert
  • outdoor patio
  • outdoor market
  • outdoor shower
  • outdoor table
Synonyms
  • open-air

    is close for places and events, often with the idea of having no roof

  • outside

    is simpler, but it is less natural before many nouns

  • alfresco

    is more formal and is used especially for meals outside

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

outdoor concert

outdoor furniture

outdoor pool

Usage Note

Usually comes before nouns such as concert, pool, furniture, market, and table. Distinguish from sense 2, which is about a person's interests or a lifestyle connected with outdoor activities.

Common Mistakes

Let's eat in the outdoor.
Let's eat outdoors.' / 'Let's eat at the outdoor cafe.
outdoor is usually an adjective before a noun.

2. connected with time spent outside on activities like hiking or climbing, or with

2.adjective
Definition

connected with time spent outside on activities like hiking or climbing, or with people who enjoy them

Example

Mia has always been the outdoor type and loves sleeping in tents.

phrase: the outdoor type

The college runs outdoor courses in climbing, camping, and map reading.

collocation: outdoor courses

Common collocations
  • the outdoor type
  • outdoor club
  • outdoor course
  • outdoor holiday
  • outdoor magazine
Synonyms
  • outdoorsy

    is more common when you are describing a person

  • active

    is broader and does not have to involve being outside

  • nature-loving

    emphasizes enjoyment of natural places more than sport or travel

Antonyms
  • indoor

    used for people, activities, or interests centered on being inside

Grammar Patterns

the outdoor type

outdoor club

outdoor holidays

Usage Note

Often appears with nouns such as type, life, club, course, holiday, and magazine. Distinguish from sense 1, which only tells you that something is physically outside.

Common Mistakes

My sister likes camping, so she is outdoor.
My sister likes camping, so she is the outdoor type.
for people, this sense is often used in the phrase 'the outdoor type'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Outdoor is the broad everyday adjective for things that are used or happen outside, such as outdoor furniture or an outdoor concert. Open-air is close, but it more often suggests a place or event with no roof, and it appears in fixed phrases like open-air market. Outside is simpler, yet it sounds less natural before many nouns, so people usually say outdoor shoes rather than outside shoes. Alfresco is more formal and is used especially for eating or drinking outside. Say outdoor table for a table on a patio, open-air concert for a music event in the open, and alfresco lunch for a meal enjoyed outside.

open-air ↗outside ↗alfresco ↗

Etymology

English

Outdoor was formed in English from out and door. It first described what was beyond the house or doorway, and later became the usual adjective for things, activities, and ways of life connected with being outside.