out-group

out-group |aʊt ɡrup | ▶noun 1 Sociology those people who do not belong to a specific in-group. 2 Biology a group of organisms not belonging to the group whose evolutionary relationships are being investigated.

out-group

out-group ▶noun 1 Sociology those people who do not belong to a specific in-group. 2 Biology a group of organisms not belonging to the group whose evolutionary relationships are being investigated. Such a group is used for comparison, to assess which characteristics of the group being studied are more widely distributed and may therefore be older in origin.