Outsize

adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An unusually large garment size.
  2. 2
    an unusual garment size (especially one that is very large) wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To exceed in size. intransitive

    "Mega-ship to outsize seas' reigning Queen."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of an unusually large size . not-comparable

    "1958, P. G. Wodehouse, The Fat of the Land, in 'A Few Quick Ones', Everyman, London: 2009, p 11. ...the contents of the kitty amounted to well over a hundred pounds. And it was generally recognized that this impressive sum must inevitably go to the lucky stiff who drew the name of Lord Blicester, for while all the starters were portly, having long let their waist-lines go, not one of them could be considered in the class of Freddie's outsize uncle."

  2. 2
    Unintuitively or unexpectedly large. not-comparable

    "Small changes in initial conditions can have an outsize effect on the course of events."

Adjective
  1. 1
    larger than normal for its kind wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
outsizedoversizedamplitudinousastronomicastronomicalawesome

Example

More examples

"Because forests are massive sponges of carbon dioxide, reversing their loss would play an outsize role in fighting climate change."

Etymology

From out- + size.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.