Other forms: outfits
An outfit is a complete set of clothes worn together. A new outfit, the whole outfit, choose an outfit.
The completeness is the point: an outfit is planned as a set rather than assembled by accident. As a verb, to outfit is to equip somebody with what they need. Informally, an outfit is also an organisation — a small outfit, that outfit in London — which is mildly dismissive. Note outfitter; and that outfit comes from fit out, a nautical phrase for equipping a ship.
1nounoutfitA complete set of clothes worn together.
“She spent ages choosing an outfit for the party.”
2nounorganisationAn organisation, informally.
“He works for a small building outfit that renovates old houses.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
outfit is a set of clothes or a group.
Outfit is a noun made from the phrasal verb fit out, meaning to equip a ship. The clothing sense came from equipping a person for a journey.
Middle English
fit — an adversary of equal power
English
fit
English, today
outfit
Variant of earlier out-fit, from fit out. Equivalent to out- + fit. fit Possibly from Middle English fit (“an adversary of equal power”), of unknown further origin. The original sense appears to have been "to marshal or deploy troops", which shifted to "to suit (troops to a certain location" > "suitable", and may be further related to Icelandic fitja (“to web, knit, cast on”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA