as in defeating
to achieve a victory over
at last she's bested her card-playing mother at the game of hearts
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Recent Examples of besting
With such big-name quarterbacks up for grabs, gang green should want to lose to avoid others besting them in the draft order.
—
Jacob Robinson, New York Times, 4 May 2026
This was a record turnaround among SpaceX launches from Space Coast launch pads at 2 hours and 54 minutes besting October’s double launch that saw a Falcon 9 launch at CCSFS just eight hours, 42 minutes after a Falcon Heavy launch at KSC.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 May 2026
Marr continued to restlessly experiment with different sounds and different collaborators after the breakup, while Morrissey has largely continued making music that sounds like the Smiths, occasionally besting Strangeways with some of his early solo albums.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 20 Apr. 2026
Developed by Chinese smartphone company Honor, Lightning completed the half-marathon in just over 50 minutes, besting the human world record for the distance of over 57 minutes.
—Simon Ellery, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2026
Megan Moroney, Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley, and Lainey Wilson were the leaders, each of them besting the closest male nominee, Chris Stapleton with six.
—Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
The bipedal humanoid, developed by smartphone maker Honor, blazed through the 13-mile race in just 50 minutes, 26 seconds, besting all 12,000 human competitors and even surpassing the human world record for a half-marathon, set by Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon last month, by nearly seven minutes.
—Janis MacKey Frayer, NBC news, 19 Apr. 2026
New Mom School was named a Rising Star, besting fellow nominees Arms Cyber Defense and Ethos.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2026
Jacob Robinson, New York Times, 4 May 2026
This was a record turnaround among SpaceX launches from Space Coast launch pads at 2 hours and 54 minutes besting October’s double launch that saw a Falcon 9 launch at CCSFS just eight hours, 42 minutes after a Falcon Heavy launch at KSC.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 May 2026
Marr continued to restlessly experiment with different sounds and different collaborators after the breakup, while Morrissey has largely continued making music that sounds like the Smiths, occasionally besting Strangeways with some of his early solo albums.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 20 Apr. 2026
Developed by Chinese smartphone company Honor, Lightning completed the half-marathon in just over 50 minutes, besting the human world record for the distance of over 57 minutes.
—Simon Ellery, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2026
Megan Moroney, Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley, and Lainey Wilson were the leaders, each of them besting the closest male nominee, Chris Stapleton with six.
—Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2026
The bipedal humanoid, developed by smartphone maker Honor, blazed through the 13-mile race in just 50 minutes, 26 seconds, besting all 12,000 human competitors and even surpassing the human world record for a half-marathon, set by Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon last month, by nearly seven minutes.
—Janis MacKey Frayer, NBC news, 19 Apr. 2026
New Mom School was named a Rising Star, besting fellow nominees Arms Cyber Defense and Ethos.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besting
Verb
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Swalwell won his congressional race, defeating a 40-year incumbent more than double his age, and grew his national profile by connecting with young voters on social media.—
Allison Gordon,
CNN Money,
4 May 2026
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In all, according to a tally from AdImpact, nearly $7 million has been spent on TV ads this year in Indiana state senate races, the bulk of it aimed at defeating the Republicans who voted against the redrawn congressional maps.—
Tamara Keith,
NPR,
4 May 2026
Verb
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The author is an entrepreneur and working on a book about overcoming betrayal.—
Emily Bryn Williams,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
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Two years ago, Romeo and her family celebrated her evolution as a performer after overcoming previous struggles.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Pig organs are similar enough in size and function to humans', but transplanting entire organs was completely out of reach until about a decade ago when scientists began mastering gene editing well enough to breed pigs whose organs are less likely to be rejected by the human immune system.—
Karen Weintraub,
USA Today,
3 May 2026
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But there’s a real satisfaction in watching Ohm figure out the suite’s unique conveniences, run by analog systems of pulleys and levers, confronting the terrors within and mastering them for his survival.—
Katie Walsh,
Twin Cities,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
The sun was beating down on me.—
Jennifer Wilson,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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The Wild’s penalty-killers pounced, starting a rush the other way that ended with Marcus Foligno beating Scott Wedgewood for a 5-4 Wild lead — Minnesota’s third straight goal and its third of the period.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
4 May 2026
Verb
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Harry and Meghan stepped back from their senior royal roles in 2020 due to media intrusion and racist coverage, eventually taking residence in Canada and, later, California, with their two children – Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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Brown said Atlanta was taking away the Knicks’ spray game, which made the answer simpler.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Built by Blueprint Construction with structural engineering by Design Point, the East River Residence demonstrates that conquering challenging terrain sometimes means floating above it.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
23 Apr. 2026
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One after another, the avatars of Democratic success in Georgia took the stage Saturday and were greeted like conquering heroes by hundreds of party faithful at the annual Carter-Lewis gala.—
Greg Bluestein,
AJC.com,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The name Business Wire likely derives from the terms news wires or wire services, which recall the mid-19th-century method of dispatching news via telegraph, sending electrical signals via wire across great distances.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
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After dispatching her parents from Phoenix to inspect the property, the couple decided to go ahead with the purchase.—
Jonathan Bullington,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Besting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besting. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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