as in surpasses
to be greater, better, or stronger than
the special effects in this new sci-fi extravaganza excel any that we've seen previously
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Recent Examples of excels
Toronto, a team firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, excels in transition and in the paint but struggles with perimeter shooting.
—
Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Mar. 2026
TrimTab Brewing excels at fruity sours infused with watermelon or peach.
—Bob Carlton, Southern Living, 16 Mar. 2026
This is a small town that excels at encouraging you to linger just a little longer.
—Jill Robbins, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2026
Grayce excels in both process and product.
—Heide Janssen, Oc Register, 15 Mar. 2026
Brindley is a high-end, debatably elite skater who gets through his extensions quickly (including from a standstill), excels on his edges, rounds corners sharply and darts around the ice, hunting pucks and pushing through holes.
—Scott Wheeler, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
These are great examples of the type of fan service Netflix’s One Piece excels at.
—Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
For example, Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX Desktop, another top pick, excels at creating full-disk images of Windows and Linux systems.
—Justin Pot, PC Magazine, 12 Mar. 2026
There are some instances when AI excels at identifying medical issues — in some studies, large language models have sometimes matched or even outperformed physicians on diagnostic reasoning tasks.
—Katia Riddle, NPR, 11 Mar. 2026
Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Mar. 2026
TrimTab Brewing excels at fruity sours infused with watermelon or peach.
—Bob Carlton, Southern Living, 16 Mar. 2026
This is a small town that excels at encouraging you to linger just a little longer.
—Jill Robbins, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2026
Grayce excels in both process and product.
—Heide Janssen, Oc Register, 15 Mar. 2026
Brindley is a high-end, debatably elite skater who gets through his extensions quickly (including from a standstill), excels on his edges, rounds corners sharply and darts around the ice, hunting pucks and pushing through holes.
—Scott Wheeler, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
These are great examples of the type of fan service Netflix’s One Piece excels at.
—Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
For example, Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX Desktop, another top pick, excels at creating full-disk images of Windows and Linux systems.
—Justin Pot, PC Magazine, 12 Mar. 2026
There are some instances when AI excels at identifying medical issues — in some studies, large language models have sometimes matched or even outperformed physicians on diagnostic reasoning tasks.
—Katia Riddle, NPR, 11 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excels
Verb
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Although Texas’ high school graduation rate surpasses the national average, the state trails in the share of young adults with four-year college degrees.—
Wilborn P. Nobles III,
Dallas Morning News,
26 Mar. 2026
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This meticulous process is all in the name of snagged that Master Chronometer label, meaning that the timepiece is highly accurate and surpasses the threshold for ultra-high performance.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
In banking and capital markets, Wharton and Accenture estimated that the share of hours impacted by digital agents alone exceeds 45%.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
26 Mar. 2026
-
When the temperature exceeds 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit), the TRPM8 ion permeation channel—the hole in the doughnut—is closed.—
Jacek Krywko,
Scientific American,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Learner Tien, 20, has six top-10 wins to one for Fonseca, and tops him in the rankings, though Fonseca has won all three of their tour-level meetings.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
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The new album also tops this week’s Official Record Store and Official Vinyl Albums Charts, selling the most copies on wax this week.—
Sophie Williams,
Billboard,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
If China finally eclipses the United States as the world’s preeminent scientific superpower, there won’t be an official announcement.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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His fan base eclipses the entire following of progressive American media companies such as The Huffington Post and Mother Jones.—
Jay Stahl,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excels. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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