Meaning & use
the outside world
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
the people, places, and events beyond a particular closed group, institution, or private setting
Grammar: Always used with 'the' and treated as singular; it often appears after prepositions like 'from' or 'to'.
Patterns
- from the outside world
- to the outside world
- the outside world knows
After months at sea, the sailors were eager to hear news from the outside world.
The monastery welcomes visitors so the monks can stay connected to the outside world.
She felt cut off from the outside world during the long winter.
phrasefixed phrase
the world outside a person's own country or immediate community; foreign lands or unfamiliar societies
Grammar: Often used when contrasting a small, local perspective with a wider, international one.
Patterns
- the outside world sees
- learn about the outside world
The village had little contact with the outside world until the road was built.
Reading books opened his mind to the outside world.
Common combinations
- contact with the outside world
- The prisoners had no contact with the outside world.
- the outside world knows
- What the outside world knows about the case is very little.
- shut off from the outside world
- The remote island is almost completely shut off from the outside world.
- news from the outside world
- They listened to the radio for news from the outside world.
Synonyms and how they differ
- the wider world
- Similar but often suggests a broader, more general society rather than a specific closed group.
- the real world
- Focuses on practical, everyday life as opposed to an ideal or sheltered environment.
Practice
After living in a small village for years, she felt disconnected from ______.
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase requires 'the' and is singular: 'the outside world'. 'Outside world' without 'the' is not standard in this context, and 'an outside world' is not used because it is a unique, specific world.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “the outside world”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.