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

But Brooks’ boundless enthusiasm – passion that’s too big for his body to contain – outshines all of that. — Heather Bushman, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026

Revealing the strategy, agility, confidence and resilience will outshine chronology. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

According to the hypothesis, a black hole star would be embedded in a growing galaxy, too, but its light could easily outshine and obscure the surrounding stars. — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2026

Even some open-source Chinese efforts are also outshining the tech giant. — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026

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
• brucine
• byline

Kids Definition

outshine

verb

out·​shine (ˈ)au̇t-ˈshīn 

outshone -ˈshōn  ; outshining

1

: to shine brighter than

2

: excel, surpass