outer
/ˈaʊtə
/adjective [attributive]
1Outside; external: the outer layer of the skin the outer door...
- She came to a stop outside the outer door to the king's privy chamber, swallowing hard.
- He also admits he might be running out of countries since his brand of humour touches only ‘a very superficial outer layer’ of each place.
- Skinflint walkers can walk on by the gatehouse and follow the deep ditch that runs outside the high outer curtain of 14 th-century walls.
Synonyms
outside, outermost, outward, exterior, external, surface, superficial
1.1Further from the centre or inside: the outer city bypass...
- ‘There's no comparison between Manchester city centre and the outer areas and it would help everybody in the area,’ he added.
- In the last seven years, more than 80,000 households have been relocated from city centre to outer areas.
- Surely it makes sense to develop that and allow a phased switch from the city centre to an outer Dublin location.
1.2(Especially in place names) more remote: Outer Mongolia...
- He spent his childhood and teenage years in the suburbs of outer London, already marginalised, already looking in at the centre from the edges.
- It sounds more like the quality of life in a struggling inner-city area than a leafy outer London suburb like Bexley.
Synonyms
outlying, distant, remote, faraway, furthest, peripheral, fringe, border, marginal, suburban, perimeter
2Objective or physical; not subjective.We work with the outer form of our physical existence by bringing our complete attention to the physical body, which is the primary basis for our clinging....
- The film plays with the concepts of inner beauty and outer beauty, physical beauty and the beauty of true emotions.
- Strictly speaking, our knowledge reaches only as far as the phenomena of inner and outer experience.
noun British
1An outer garment or part of one: boots with stiff leather outers...
- It has a micromesh outer which limits the vest to less than 1 kilogram in weight, and has pockets of gel sewn in to it which can hold temperature for long periods.
- The moccasin is made of a sheep hide reversed to give the comfort of wool and the false impression of security by the leather outer.
- My cigarette smoke is miniscule compared to the pollution that clings to our innards and outers from factories and traffic and from the unseen dangers caused by radio waves or electricity.
2(In archery and shooting) the division of a target furthest from the bullseye.
2.1A shot that strikes the outer.
3A container in which packaged objects are placed for transport or display.In 1971 he joined the boxmills operation where approximately one-third of all the company's packaging was manufactured - especially Christmas chocolate boxes, decorated outers and printed wrappers....
- Most cases are made of cardboard outers, with cardboard vertical or papier mâché horizontal dividers.
4Australian informal The part of a racecourse outside the enclosure.From the outer - during the last quarter as the Bombers stalled going forward - the cry ‘Lead for him’ could be heard from the crowd....
- How many times have I sat there in the outer, or on my lounge chair and watched them so nearly get it together, only to be methodically dismantled in the last twenty minutes?
- He remembered occasions in the outer in the 1960s and '70s when a space would suddenly clear to reveal knots of men belting into each other.
Phrases
on the outer
Origin
Late Middle English: from out + -er2, replacing earlier utter1.