exterior

exteriors; exteriorly

Something that's exterior is on the outside of some structure or object. An exterior door on a house opens to the outdoors, rather than connecting one room to another.

Exterior house paint is made for painting the shingles or siding of your home, not the walls of your living room, and the exterior finish of a car is on the outside. You can also use exterior as a noun, to mean the outside of something: "The exterior of this salad bowl is a weird shade of yellow." Exterior is a Latin word, a comparative of exterus, "on the outside, outward, or foreign."

Definitions of exterior
  1. adjective
    situated in or suitable for the outdoors or outside of a building
    “an exterior scene”
    “exterior grade plywood”
    “exterior paints”
    Synonyms:
    out
    outside or external
    outside
    leading to or from the outside
    out-of-door, outdoor, outside
    located, suited for, or taking place in the open air
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    Antonyms:
    interior
    situated within or suitable for inside a building
    indoor
    within doors
    inside
    being or applying to the inside of a building
    indoor
    located, suited for, or taking place within a building
    show more antonyms...
  2. noun
    the outer side or surface of something
    synonyms: outside
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    inside, interior
    the inner or enclosed surface of something
    type of:
    surface
    the extended two-dimensional outer boundary of a three-dimensional object
  3. noun
    the region that is outside of something
    synonyms: outside
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    inside, interior
    the region that is inside of something
    types:
    open, open air, out-of-doors, outdoors
    where the air is unconfined
    type of:
    part, region
    the extended spatial location of something
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘exterior'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family

Vocabulary lists containing exterior

Vocabulary Review, Unit 1

UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #1

#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16

"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 5

This list focuses on electrical systems (Chapters 28-38). Here are links to all the sections of the textbook published by The Goodheart-Willcox Company, Inc.: Section 1, Section 2, Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, Section 6, Section 7, Section 8, Section 9, Section 10, Section 11, Section 12, Section 13

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