output
output — noun
1. the total quantity that a person, company, machine, or country makes, usually wi
the total quantity that a person, company, machine, or country makes, usually within a stated time
The factory doubled its output after adding a night shift.
factory output over a work period
After weeks of heavy rain, rice output fell sharply.
crop output
Japan's car output rose again in March after parts arrived.
One machine can lift daily output by three hundred boxes.
daily output
During the cold winter months, the mine maintained high output.
- industrial output
- daily output
- annual output
- raise output
- production
the closest general word, often used for factories, farms, and industries
- yield
used especially for crops, mines, or other measured returns
- throughput
a more technical word for how much a system processes in a given time
- input
the materials, energy, or effort fed into a process rather than what it produces
Grammar Patterns
industrial output
daily output
output of + factory/country
Usage Note
Usually uncountable in this sense and often paired with words showing time or scale, such as daily, annual, national, or industrial. Distinguish from sense 2, which refers to an individual result or item rather than the overall amount.
Common Mistakes
2. a created item, piece of work, or body of information made by people, machines,
a created item, piece of work, or body of information made by people, machines, or software
The printer's output was too faint to read clearly.
printer's output
Mina's best output this year was a picture book for children.
creative output
Before the meeting, the lab checked the computer output twice.
computer output
Video output from the camera filled the control room screen.
The robot's output was stacked in blue trays by the door.
- computer output
- printed output
- creative output
- program output
- input
information or material that goes into a system before a result is produced
Grammar Patterns
computer output
printed output
output from + program/machine
Usage Note
Often countable when talking about separate items from a machine or program, but it can be uncountable for a person's work in general. Distinguish from sense 1, where output is the overall amount, not one result.
Common Mistakes
3. the amount of power, heat, or signal strength sent out by equipment or a technic
the amount of power, heat, or signal strength sent out by equipment or a technical system
This small heater has enough heat output to warm a large room.
heat output to warm + place
Engine output drops when the fuel filter is blocked.
engine output
The radio's output was weak inside the long tunnel.
On clear days, solar panel output peaks at noon.
solar panel output
Technicians tested the speaker output before the concert began.
- power output
- engine output
- speaker output
- solar output
- power
the broad everyday word, but less exact than output in technical measurement
- power level
stresses the measured strength being delivered
- signal strength
used when the output is a radio, sound, or electronic signal
- input
power or signal entering a system rather than leaving it
Grammar Patterns
power output
engine output
output of + motor/speaker
Usage Note
Usually follows the name of a device, engine, speaker, or power source. Distinguish from sense 1, which is about how much is made over time, not how strong a machine's delivered power or signal is.
Common Mistakes
output — verb
1. if a computer or electronic device outputs something, it makes it available by p
if a computer or electronic device outputs something, it makes it available by printing, showing, or sending it out
The printer output three copies of the form in seconds.
output + number + object
At 6 p.m., the machine output a warning message.
machine output + message
The sensor outputs new data every five minutes.
output data
Yesterday, the app output a map for each driver.
With one click, the program output the final report.
- output data
- output a report
- output a signal
- output three copies
- input
to put data or commands into a system instead of sending results out
Grammar Patterns
output + data/report/signal
output + number + copies/pages
Usage Note
The subject is normally the device or software, and the object is usually data, a report, a page, a chart, or a signal. Distinguish from sense 2, where the thing produced becomes the subject instead.
Common Mistakes
2. if data, sound, or another result outputs, it comes out of a device such as a co
if data, sound, or another result outputs, it comes out of a device such as a computer, printer, or speaker
The chart output in black and white by mistake.
intransitive: result + output
After the update, the labels output more slowly than before.
labels output
Only half the tickets output from the machine this morning.
output from + machine
At first, only blank pages output from the office printer.
The image output correctly once Maya changed the file type.
- output from the machine
- output correctly
- output in black and white
- output slowly
Grammar Patterns
labels/tickets/data output
output from + printer/machine
Usage Note
This pattern is much less common than sense 1. The subject is the chart, labels, sound, or other result, and many speakers would more naturally use 'come out' or a passive form of sense 1 instead.
Common Mistakes
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
For noun sense 1, 'output' is a broad word for how much a person, factory, machine, or country produces. 'Production' is the closest synonym and is common in business, farming, and industry. 'Yield' usually points to the amount gained from land, mines, or another source of return, so it is narrower. 'Throughput' is more technical and stresses how much a system can handle in a certain time, especially in engineering or computing. A factory manager may talk about monthly output or production, but a farmer is more likely to discuss rice yield. In a technical report, engineers often measure throughput rather than simple output.
Common collocations
Prepositions
- output from
- output of
Etymology
Output was formed in English from out and put. The verb first referred to putting something out, and later developed the modern technical sense of producing or sending something out from a machine or system. The noun then came to mean both the amount produced and the result, power, or information that comes out.