out-group

American

[out-groop] / ˈaʊtˌgrup /

noun

Sociology.

people outside one's own group, especially as considered to be inferior or alien; a group perceived as other than one's own.

out-group British

noun

sociol persons excluded from an in-group

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of out-group

First recorded in 1905–10; out- + group

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A vice signaler typically violates moral or other standards of an out-group precisely in order to look good to the fellow members of some in-group.

From Salon

But when one vice signals, the out-group’s values take center stage — in order to be shirked rather than lived up to.

From Salon

“An autocracy needs to create an in-group versus an out-group,” Corrales explained.

From Slate

So if you decide to exclude someone from a paradigm, you have to change the rules and you have to define who is in the in-group and who is in the out-group.

From Slate

Our "foodways" – our cultural and social practices regarding the creation and consumption of food – are where community, connection and in-group/out-group dynamics are formed.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023