Outcome: What Came Out of It
An outcome is the result of a process. The word is a plain English compound, and it has become the key term in how services are judged.
An outcome is what results from a process or event. It has become the central word in public policy and health: services are increasingly judged on outcomes — did the patient recover, did the pupil learn — rather than on outputs, which count what was produced without asking whether it worked.
- A result. *The outcome of the vote.*
- A measured result in health or education. *Patient outcomes improved.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | outcome | A good outcome. |
| Plural | outcomes | Learning outcomes. |
| Related | output | Weekly output. |
| Related | result | The final result. |
| Related | consequence | An unintended consequence. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The outcome was never in doubt.The result.
- The course lists its learning outcomes.What students should be able to do afterwards.
- Outcomes vary by region.Health and social policy.
Output, outcome and impact
- Input — what goes in: money, staff, time
- Output — what is produced: operations performed, leaflets printed
- Outcome — the change that results: health improved
- Impact — the longer-term effect on the wider world
- Indicator — the measure used to track any of these
A compound of *out* and *come*, formed in English rather than borrowed. It was rare before the nineteenth century and became common only in the twentieth.
Outcome or output?
An output is what an activity produces. An outcome is the difference it makes. A hospital's output is operations; the outcome is whether patients get better.
Outcome or consequence?
Consequence usually suggests something unintended or unwelcome. Outcome is neutral.