outshine

verb

out·​shine ˌau̇t-ˈshīn 

outshone ˌau̇t-ˈshōn 

especially British -ˈshän

or outshined; outshining

transitive verb

1

a

: to shine brighter than

b

: to excel in splendor or showiness

But among foliage tourists, peak means one day that will outshine all others.

—Madeline Drexler

2

: outdo, surpass

… a self-made man with an ego that outshone his rhinestone-bedazzled … suits.

—Sarah Smarsh

intransitive verb

: to shine out

Synonyms of outshine

• surpass
• exceed
• eclipse
• better
• top

Examples of outshine in a Sentence

She outshines all the other actors in the film.

the trumpeter outshines all of his fellow band members

Recent Examples on the Web

And perhaps there is something even uglier, such as a desire to sabotage and tear down this girl, who, through sheer, unglamorous hard work, has managed to outshine him. —Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025

Larger pieces can give rise to brilliant fireballs, which can outshine even the brightest planets in the night sky. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 16 Nov. 2025

Sure, maybe country’s shutout in best new artist was due in part to overcrowding between Ella Langley, Zach Top and Megan Moroney, with no one of those country candidates obviously outshining the other two. —Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 11 Nov. 2025

The Bears have demonstrated promise at times this season, led by quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, whose numbers outshine those of any Cal freshman at the position other than Jared Goff. —Jeff Faraudo, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1585, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Rhymes for outshine

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• byline
• canine

Kids Definition

outshine

verb

out·​shine (ˈ)au̇t-ˈshīn 

outshone -ˈshōn  ; outshining

1

: to shine brighter than

2

: excel, surpass