outnumber
verb
out·num·ber
ˌau̇t-ˈnəm-bər 
outnumbered; outnumbering; outnumbers
: to exceed in number
Examples of outnumber in a Sentence
With 20 girls and 10 boys in the class, girls outnumber boys by 2 to 1.
Recent Examples on the Web
The big hope about the leap to Boulder is that college students will outnumber wealthy ski bunnies.
—
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
At the 14 agencies that Science examined, PhD departures outnumbered new hires in 2025 by a ratio of 11 to one, resulting in a net loss of 4,224 STEM PhDs.
—Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Local authorities were outnumbered and beleaguered.
—Michael Luo, New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2026
Births outnumbered deaths last year by 519,000 people.
—Mike Schneider, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for outnumber
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
At the 14 agencies that Science examined, PhD departures outnumbered new hires in 2025 by a ratio of 11 to one, resulting in a net loss of 4,224 STEM PhDs.
—Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Local authorities were outnumbered and beleaguered.
—Michael Luo, New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2026
Births outnumbered deaths last year by 519,000 people.
—Mike Schneider, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for outnumber
Cite this Entry
“Outnumber.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outnumber. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
outnumber
verb
out·num·ber
(ˈ)au̇t-ˈnəm-bər
: to be more than in number
girls outnumber boys in the class
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
