WordGarden.iooutmode
Pronunciation
UK
US
- /ˌaʊtˈmoʊd/
Meanings
Verb
to make something seem old-fashioned or no longer current
Beyond the definition
To outmode something means to make it outdated or no longer fashionable, usually because something newer has taken its place. Think of how smartphones made many older mobile phones seem old-fashioned. The idea is not just that time passed, but that progress or changing taste pushed the older thing aside. While you might outgrow a pair of shoes, a new invention can outmode an older tool or habit. The word suggests a clear change in which the older way no longer feels current or useful.
Imagine a blacksmith in the age of automobiles. The rise of cars did not just mean fewer people needed horseshoes; it helped outmode a trade that had once been central to transportation. Or consider how streaming services have, in many places, outmoded traditional ways of watching scheduled TV. It is not simply that something is old, but that something else has taken its place.
The word "outmode" describes the process of making something obsolete or unfashionable by the arrival of something newer, more effective, or more appealing. It is stronger than simply saying that something became old; it suggests replacement. One thing pushes another out of common use. For example, if a new kind of software outmodes an older system, the older system does not just seem dated; it is no longer the one people want to use.
"Outmode" is not limited to technology or fashion. It can also apply to ideas, practices, or social habits. A scientific advance might outmode an older method. A shift in culture can outmode customs that once seemed normal.
The word carries a sense of progress and change, but sometimes also of loss. The thing being outmoded is no longer seen as valuable, modern, or relevant. It often appears in discussions of innovation, design, industry, and changing social taste. You might say, "The new software completely outmoded our old system," meaning the newer version was so much better or more suitable that the older one fell out of use.
The verb itself is less common in everyday speech than the adjective "outmoded," but it is still useful when you want to describe a clear shift from old to new. It fits moments when progress, fashion, or new ideas leave older things behind. The word highlights how quickly what once felt normal can start to seem like part of the past.
Examples
- 1
Technology
Smartphones outmoded many small cameras.
- 2
Factory equipment
Many of the factory's machines were outmoded by cheaper digital equipment.
- 3
Workplace policy
The policy now feels outmoded in a workplace where most people use flexible hours.
See also
Similar
Shades of meaning
- render obsolete
- phase out
Contrast
Used with (collocations)
- outmode a design
- outmode a technology
Word family
- outmoded
Explore
Forms and spellings
1 form open this card.
Main spelling
- outmodeverb