To Remove
To Exclude, To Miss Something
transitive verb, godan verb
This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb.
The kanji 外 means outside, and the meaning of this verb is somewhat related. It means to remove something. Think of it like this — if you remove your watch, you are putting it "outside" of its usual spot (your wrist), right?
Like many verbs ending in す, this verb is transitive. It's used for when you intentionally take something and put it outside of where it's supposed to be — so depending on the context, it can also mean to exclude someone, or even to miss something (like a target). See how all these meanings relate to the idea of something ending up outside its intended spot?
Since this word has okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) you know that it's probably going to be a kun'yomi reading. You haven't learned this one yet, so here's a mnemonic to help you:
If you're going to remove something from its usual spot, you'd better put on your hazmat (はず) suit. You know, those full body yellow onesies people wear to make sure they don't come in contact with any hazardous material. You don't know how long that thing you're removing has been there — or what kind of weird toxic stuff may have accumulated around it — so it's better to be safe than sorry.
チェックを外す
to uncheck
羽目を外す
to enjoy oneself too much, to let oneself go
カバーを外す
to remove the cover
キャップを外す
to take off the cap, to take off the lid
ネジを外す
to unscrew
ボタンを外す
to unbutton
リストから外す
to remove from a list
本体から外す
to disconnect from the main unit, to detach from the main unit
メンバーから外す
to withdraw someone from a lineup, to exclude someone from a group
外さない
not miss, not remove
おっマスク外すと別人だね。
Whoa, you're a different person when you take off the mask.
またターゲットを外してしまった。
I missed the target again.
どうしてキョーコをチームから外したんですか？
Why did you remove Kyoko from the team?
エンジンを外しましょう。
Let's remove the engine.