Dictionary

outpost en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈaʊtˌpoʊst/ (US)
• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Germanic *ūt Proto-Germanic *ūt- Old English ūt- Middle English ut- English out- English post English outpost From out- + post.

Meanings

1. A military post stationed at a distance from the main body of troops.
   • The outpost did not have enough ammunition to resist a determined assault.
2. The body of troops manning such a post.
   • Sgt. Smith fleeced most of the rest of the outpost of their earnings in their weekly game of craps.
3. A sentinel positioned outside.
   • The net had been fully drawn; every member of the gang had been accounted for and now the outposts stationed in the garden were coming in to take over the work of guarding and escorting the haul of prisoners. 1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London:
4. An outlying settlement.
   • […] Colonel Moen was trying to make sense of the radio nets, which had never really been operational let alone secure; our numerous outposts were cobbled together with hand-held Motorolas and too few repeater stations […] 2009, Julius Mutwol, Peace Agreements and Civil Wars in Africa, →ISBN, page 190:
   • Beyond the border proper, there are three small outposts not officially under government protection.
   • On March 9, 1903, an extension, 50 miles in length, was opened from Letterkenny to the remote outpost of Burtonport, a small township on the shores of the Atlantic in the far north-west corner of Co. Donegal, running through some of the wildest and bleakest parts of the country. 1953 October, H. C. Casserley, “Closure of the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 701:
   • Francis, by contrast, was at pains to listen and act, going so far in 2023 as to call a curiously named synod on synodality in his anxiety to make the process work better as a conduit between the centre and the outposts of his global church. 2025 April 21, Peter Stanford, “Pope Francis obituary”, in The Guardian:
5. A square protected by a pawn that is in or near the enemy's stronghold.

Forms

Relateds

outport · provincial · reposting

Translations (54)

es avanzada (The troops themselves) · pl forpoczta (The troops themselves) · fi syrjäasutus (An outlying settlement) · yi אַוואַנפּאָסט (A military post) · da forpost (A military post) · fi etuvartio (The troops themselves) · ga urphost (A military post) · el προφυλακή (The troops themselves) · es puesto avanzado (A military post) · ru аванпо́ст (A military post) · fr avant-poste (A military post) · fi etuvartio (A military post) · pl pole ochronione przez pion (A chess square) · el προφυλακή (A military post) · fi syrjäkylä (An outlying settlement) · vi tiền đồn (A military post) · pl czata (A military post) · de Vorposten (A military post) · nn utpost (An outlying settlement) · nb utpost (An outlying settlement) · fi etuvartioasema (A chess square) · ru заста́ва (A military post) · nb utpost (A military post) · nl buitenpost (An outlying settlement) · bg ава́нпо́ст (A military post) · it avamposto (A military post) · nl voorpost (A military post) · es colonia (An outlying settlement) · he מוצב חוץ (A military post) · cy rhagorsaf (A military post) · ru кордо́н (A military post) · ru форпо́ст (A military post) · ro avanpost (An outlying settlement) · ro avanpost (A military post) · pl czata (The troops themselves) · tr ileri karakol (An outlying settlement) · pt posto avançado (A military post) · fr poste avancé (A military post) · bn থানা (A military post) · es puesto de avanzada (A military post) · es comunidad (An outlying settlement) · pl forpoczta (A military post) · cy rhagorsaf (An outlying settlement) · pl oddalona osiedla (An outlying settlement) · de Außenposten (An outlying settlement) · nn utpost (A military post) · es avanzadilla (A military post) · tr ileri karakol (A military post) · nl buitenpost (A military post) · el προφυλακή (An outlying settlement) · he מאחז (An outlying settlement) · mk пре́тстража (A military post) · es destacamento (The troops themselves) · fi etuvartioasema (A military post)