Outskirts
noun /ˈaʊt.skɜːts/ — The outer parts or fringes of a town or city.
Definition
The outer parts of a town or city, especially residential areas distant from the centre. The outskirts are the city's edge — where the density of the centre meets the openness of what lies beyond.
Beyond the definition
The outskirts are where the city hasn't quite finished — where there are still fields at the end of the road, where the sky is visible above the rooflines. Not quite city, not quite country. The interesting edge.
Origin & history
English: 'out' + 'skirt' (border, outer part). 'Skirt' in the sense of edge or border dates to the 14th century. The plural 'outskirts' emerged in the 17th century to describe the periphery of a settlement.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
She lived on the outskirts — far enough out to have a garden, close enough to the centre to pretend she didn't.
The factory had been built on the outskirts, well away from the residential areas — a 19th-century compromise now engulfed by the city.
Life on the outskirts of things: geography as metaphor for her entire experience of belonging.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Outskirts” when the meaning fits your context: The outer parts of a town or city, especially residential areas distant from the centre. The outskirts are the city's edge — where the density of the centre meets the openness of what lies beyond.
Synonyms
periphery, suburbs, edge, fringe
Antonyms
centre, heart, downtown
Related words
Outskirts vs suburbs
Outskirts refers to the physical edge of a town. Suburbs are specific residential areas on the periphery that are often socio-economically distinct.
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Edge of the Grand Station
An adult stands on a deserted, grand railway station platform at dusk, with sunlight streaming through high windows onto empty, shadowed architecture.
The station platform, positioned at the city's edge, represents the outskirts. The transition from the grand, iron architecture to the vast, empty space beyond highlights the outskirts as the boundary where the density of a center finally meets the openness of the surroundings.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Outskirts" mean?
Outskirts is noun meaning: The outer parts or fringes of a town or city.. The outer parts of a town or city, especially residential areas distant from the centre. The outskirts are the city's edge — where the density of the centre meets the openness of what lies beyond.
Where does the word "Outskirts" come from?
English: 'out' + 'skirt' (border, outer part). 'Skirt' in the sense of edge or border dates to the 14th century. The plural 'outskirts' emerged in the 17th century to describe the periphery of a settlement.