Legal Definitions - outstanding

Outstanding, adjective

1. Refers to debts or bills that have not been paid yet.
2. Refers to shares of a company that have been publicly issued and sold.

• Outstanding debts: If you owe money to someone and you haven't paid it back yet, that debt is considered outstanding.
• Outstanding shares: When a company sells shares of stock to the public, those shares are considered outstanding until they are bought back or sold.

The examples illustrate the two different meanings of the word "outstanding." In the first example, "outstanding debts" refers to money that is owed but has not been paid yet. In the second example, "outstanding shares" refers to shares of a company that have been sold to the public and are still in circulation.