besting

verb

present participle of best
as in defeating
to achieve a victory over at last she's bested her card-playing mother at the game of hearts

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of besting Peloton Interactive — The maker of fitness equipment jumped 7% after Peloton Interactive posted fiscal first-quarter revenue of $559 million, besting the LSEG consensus estimate of $554 million. — Sarah Min, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026 At 228 career games, Cooley became the fastest active player to have five career hat tricks, besting Alex Ovechkin by two games. — ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026 Miller is a Cook County Commissioner and longtime political ally of Kelly's, who won the March primary by besting nine other candidates. — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026 Fox won the English-language rights in 2011, besting incumbent ESPN with a $425 million bid for two cycles. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 22 Oct. 2026 As the unsuccessful regime-change effort in Iran demonstrated, there are no shortcuts to besting the axis countries, together or individually. — Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026 The musical grossed a whopping $2,608,571, easily besting runner-up The Lion King‘s $1,700,873. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026 The 48-year gap between his two most recent wins set a new record, besting the previous record holder, Reiner’s dad, Carl Reiner, according to Variety. — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026 The Bears set a franchise record for points in an opener, besting a 45-7 win over the Packers in 1948. — Joseph Person, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besting
  1. defeating
  2. overcoming
  3. mastering
  4. beating
  5. taking
  6. conquering
  7. dispatching
Verb
  • The Rams find the end zone late in the second quarter after a sluggish start and don’t look back, defeating the Chargers 24-9 to improve to 4-4 on the season.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The matchup was billed as a rematch of Super Bowl LX, which Seattle won in February by defeating New England 29-10 to claim the franchise’s second Vince Lombardi Trophy.
    — Chantz Martin OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of defeating
Verb
  • The Dolphins had plenty more opportunities after Gordon’s penalty to right the ship, overcoming the challenges that the team’s second-half belly-flop presented.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The Knicks got into the win column for the first time this season by overcoming a 13-point deficit in Tuesday’s home victory against the Detroit Pistons.
    — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • Making a cup of coffee can be as simple as popping a pod into a machine or as complex as mastering a high-tech espresso machine.
    — Randi Gollin, Martha Stewart, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Ward went on to join Ohio’s BalletMet and North Carolina Dance Theatre, mastering classical and neoclassical styles until his heart demanded a move beyond those orthodoxies.
    — Guillermo Perez, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of mastering
Verb
  • At least Florida can point to Ole Miss and Texas, but the Gamecocks jumped into the top 25 after beating a very mediocre Oklahoma team.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The Falcons advanced to the second round last year after beating Berlin the first round.
    — Lori Riley, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of beating
Verb
  • Her hours used to be filled with calls, note-taking and lengthy card disclosures.
    — Lindsay Dodgson, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Dallas Mavericks star Cooper Flagg exited Friday night's game against the Indiana Pacers with an apparent shoulder injury after taking a hard foul while attempting a layup.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of taking
Verb
  • Eleven country-pop songs behind a cover with a distinctly 2000s aesthetic, from a Pennsylvania girl with her sights set on conquering Nashville.
    — Ilaria Perrotta, Vanity Fair, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Marsh argued conquering the global market means knowing differences between international markets.
    — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of conquering
Verb
  • That nonprofit group has been building resilience in lower-resource countries for over a decade, dispatching coaches and mentors to educate and train local healthcare students and practitioners as well as building financial and material resources.
    — Diane Cole, NPR, 20 Oct. 2026
  • More important than the figures themselves is the engine’s broad, effortless power delivery, which makes the Carrera T feel eager whether carving through a mountain road or dispatching a stretch of freeway.
    — Bradley Iger, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of dispatching

Browse Nearby Words

bestiary
besting
bestir
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Cite this Entry

“Besting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besting. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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