outstrip

verb out·strip \ ˌau̇t-ˈstrip \

Definition of outstrip

transitive verb

1 :to go faster or farther than

2 :to get ahead of

has civilization outstripped the ability of its users to use it?
—Margaret Mead

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Examples of outstrip in a Sentence

The new hotel outstrips all other hotels in the area in size and luxury.
The fullback outstripped the defenders and scored a touchdown.

Recent Examples of outstrip from the Web

Yet demand for professional caregivers already far outstrips supply, and experts say this workforce shortage will only get worse.

— cynthia matuszek, Smithsonian, "How Robots Could Help the Elderly Age In Their Homes," 29 Aug. 2017
Trump does seem on pace to outstrip previous presidential spending by the end of his term.

— ajc homepage, ajc, "Trump travel costliest ever to taxpayers? Too soon to tell," 24 Aug. 2017
The ability of churches to care for the poor was outstripped early in the Great Depression.

— jon talton, The Seattle Times, "Getting ahead: The allure and limitations of the bootstrap," 8 Aug. 2017
The going was hard on all of us, but as his condition worsened, his suffering outstripped our own.

— bjorn olson, Alaska Dispatch News, "Pedaling through fierce winds, from Point Hope to Utqiagvik," 30 July 2017
Charlize Theron and Marion Cotillard outstrip Meryl Streep’s political grandstanding through their all-out physical embodiment of the moment’s anxieties and silliness.

— armond white, National Review, "From the Land of the Moon," 28 July 2017
For more than a decade, Republicans in Wisconsin have warned that the state's long-term plans for roads outstrip what the state is expected to take in through gas taxes and vehicle registration fees.

— patrick marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Senate Republicans in Wisconsin reverse course and break out credit card for roads," 19 July 2017
While his delivery was every bit as stentorian as promised, the quality of Rees-Mogg’s rhetoric and sly humor far outstripped that of the others on his own side as well as his opponents.

— will collier, National Review, "Jacob Rees-Mogg Is Finally Having His Moment," 17 July 2017
By 2026, opinion polls showed that faith in Europe outstripped scepticism in almost every one of the 27 EU countries.

— The Economist, "If France’s reforms succeededWhat a Macron miracle could do for France and Europe," 13 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'outstrip.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of outstrip

out- + obsolete strip to move fast

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1567

See Words from the same year

outstrip Synonyms

Synonyms

beat, better, eclipse, exceed, excel, outclass, outdistance, outdo, outgun, outmatch, outshine, surpass, overtop, top, tower (over), transcend

Related Words

one-up, outpace, outrace, outrun, overpass; best, clobber, conquer, crush, defeat, drub, lick, master, outcompete, outperform, overcome, overmatch, prevail (over), rout, shame, skunk, subdue, surmount, thrash, trim, triumph (over), trounce, wallop, whip, win (against), worst; outbalance, outweigh, overbear, overshadow, trump

Near Antonyms

lose (to)

Synonym Discussion of outstrip

exceed, surpass, transcend, excel, outdo, outstrip mean to go or be beyond a stated or implied limit, measure, or degree. exceed implies going beyond a limit set by authority or established by custom or by prior achievement.