outwards

"Outwards" describes a direction or movement that goes away from a central point, the inside, or the place where something begins. It points toward the outside edge, surface, or surrounding area. It is commonly used for physical movement, shape, and growth, such as a balloon pushing outwards, branches reaching outwards from a tree trunk, or people moving outwards from the center of a crowd. It can also describe things spreading from one place into a wider area.

You can use it when something opens, expands, spreads, or turns toward the outside. A door may swing outwards. A town may grow outwards over time. The petals of a flower may bend outwards as it opens. Light, heat, or sound can also move outwards from a source, giving the word a natural sense of radiating away from the center.

The word often suggests a spreading or radiating effect. Think of heat moving outwards from a fire or light shining outwards from a lamp. It is often used in contrast with "inwards," which describes movement toward the center or inside.

You might say, "The crowd moved outwards after the concert," to describe people spreading away from the middle. In the same way, a crack in glass may spread outwards, or roots may push outwards through the soil.

So in most cases, "outwards" carries the idea of going away from the center and toward the outside, whether that movement is literal, visible, or simply a matter of direction.