outsole

O1U1T1S1O1L1E1

noun

The underside of a shoe or other footwear, which makes contact with the floor.

OriginEnglish sole ← Middle English ut- ← Old English ūt- →
Less commonScrabble 7
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Meanings

nounoutsole (plural outsoles)

plural outsoles

  1. The underside of a shoe or other footwear, which makes contact with the floor.
verboutsole (third-person singular simple present outsoles, present participle outsoling, simple past and past participle outsoled)

present singular third person outsoles · participle present outsoling · participle past outsoled · past outsoled

  1. transitiveTo fit (footwear) with an outsole.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
outersole

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úd
  2. Proto-Germanic*ūt
  3. Proto-Germanic*ūt-
  4. Old Englishūt-
  5. Middle Englishut-
  6. Englishout-
  7. Englishsole
  8. Englishoutsole

From out- + sole.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech podešev
  • podeševTranslations
Finnish ulkopohja
  • ulkopohjaTranslations
German Außensohle
  • AußensohleTranslations
Polish zewnętrzna podeszwa
  • zewnętrzna podeszwaTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

outsole. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outsole

MLA

“outsole.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outsole. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “outsole,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outsole.

Source: outsole on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.