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

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

The biggest supermoon since 2019 rose earlier this week and will continue to shine bright, which could potentially outshine the aurora. —Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 Nov. 2025

Inconveniently for skywatchers, the full moon will also occur on November 5, with its brightness potentially outshining meteors. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2025

Whether or not Ewers outshines Wilson, who has a four-year experience edge on him, running the scout team, which gets the defense ready for each week’s opponent, shouldn’t be what’s important. —Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 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