transitive verb
-·sourced·, -·sourc·ing to transfer (certain manufacturing operations, administrative activities, etc.) to outside contractors, esp. so as to reduce one's operating costs
verb
To outsource is to obtain goods or services from a foreign supplier instead of a local or internal source.
When a company gets cheap labor from China instead of having its products made by American workers, this is an example of when it outsources.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"outsource." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/outsource>.
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outsource. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/outsource
outsource
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"outsource." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/outsource>.
APA Style
outsource. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/outsource
outsource
transitive verb
out·sourced, out·sourc·ing, out·sourc·es- To delegate (a task, function, or responsibility) to an independent provider: “Most retailers outsource the bulk of their manufacturing to Third World countries, where labor is dramatically cheaper” ( James Surowiecki )
- To relocate or transfer (jobs) to another labor market: “Although the absolute number of jobs outsourced from developed countries to China remains small, the threat that firms could produce offshore helps to keep a lid on wages” ( The Economist )
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"outsource." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/outsource>.
APA Style
outsource. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/outsource
Verb
(third-person singular simple present outsources, present participle outsourcing, simple past and past participle outsourced)
- (chiefly US, business, management) To transfer the management and/or day-to-day execution of a business function to a third-party service provider.
- They decided to outsource the design and manufacture of the system to a vendor.
Origin
out- +"Ž source
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"outsource." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/outsource>.
APA Style
outsource. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/outsource
Sentence Examples
- Many L.A. County residents choose to outsource their home inventory needs, but be sure to work closely with any professional helper because you want to make sure that everything is included on the listing.
- Inteli Target offers sales lead generation, business-to-business telemarketing, outsource sales services, database cleansing, trade show follow-up, and pre-and-post-event support.
- Companies that outsource no longer have complete control over the processes used by the business, since these functions will be handled by the other company or individuals hired to work as independent contractors.
- To make an informed decision, you must know the strengths and weaknesses of your various departments and how much each is costing you to perform, compared to how much it will cost to outsource.
- They note that when companies outsource tasks to a cheaper source of labor, that the prices they pay for that company's products or services aren't reduced as a result.
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WORDS NEAR outsource IN THE DICTIONARY
- outsource
- outsourceable
- outsourced
- outsourcer