Learn English – Difference between “output” and “outcome”

differencesword-choice

What is the difference between output and outcome? Please suggest the proper usage.

Best Answer

Output is usually used to measure the rate of something. It is often used when talking about energy/power created.

Outcome is the result of an action. The outcome of a fight, for example might be a couple of black eyes.

To try to put these into one context:

This book was the outcome of three years solitude and constant work from the author.

The author has an incredible output, having released 5 books this year and 6 last year.

Also,

The outcome of increasing the machine's printing speed was a much higher output.

Here, by increasing the speed, the engineers have improved the efficiency of their machine.

Hope this helps.

N.B.: It has been pointed out in the comments that output can also be the result of running a process in some computer applications and data processing.