outwith

O1U1T1W4I1T1H4
UK/aʊtˈwɪð/UK/aʊtˈwɪθ/

preposition

Outside; beyond; outside of.

Opposite
UncommonFirst used 12th c.Scrabble 13

Meanings

preposition
  1. ScotlandOutside; beyond; outside of.First known use 12th c.

    To others, it is an escape, a chance to think of ways of life outwith those we experience now […].

    2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherworlds, Penguin, published 2023, page xix
    5 more examples

    All at once he’d wanted to buy a place there, but it had been too isolated for his wife – and outwith their means anyway.

    1990, Ian Rankin, Dead Souls: An Inspector Rebus Novel, page 159

    2004, Official Journal of the European Union, 24.7.2004, C190/10, reporting on a judgment of the European Court of Justice. Finally, the Court failed to examine, and thus to show, in what way such differentiated treatment is objectively justified. The fact that it is the result of circumstances outwith the control of the Communities does not constitute such justification […] .

    It is not acceptable to have EU-US deals on extradition, information collection and exchange, and border controls which are cooked up in secret and outwith the democratic control of the European and national parliaments.

    2009, Sarah Ludford MEP, Letters, The Guardian, 17 Jun 09

    Although Burton’s work lies outwith the scope of the current book, Cockburn’s response reveals a great deal about how Hume and his works were received in Scotland in the half century after his death […].

    2010, Mark Towsey, Reading the Scottish Enlightenment, Leiden: Brill, page 263

    These spent convictions for most purposes only fall outwith the scope of the exception of section 4(3)(b) if they are not included in a higher level disclosure sent in connection with the profession, office, type of employment, occupation, decision or proposed decision to which the exception would otherwise apply.

    2018, The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exclusions and Exceptions) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2018
adverboutwith (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOutside, outwardly; outwards.First known use 13th c.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
Also see

Origin

  1. Middle Englishoutwith
  2. Englishoutwith

From Middle English outwith, outewith, a transposed variant of Middle English withoute (“without”). Cognate to Scots ootwi. By surface analysis, out + with.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic خَارِج
  • خَارِج (ḵārij)outside; beyond; outside of
Dutch buiten
  • buitenoutside; beyond; outside of
French hors
  • horsoutside; beyond; outside of
German außerhalb
  • außerhalboutside; beyond; outside of

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with outwith

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

outwith. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outwith

MLA

“outwith.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outwith. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “outwith,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outwith.

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