as in surpassing
to be greater, better, or stronger than
two vaccine developers who spent years vigorously trying to outdo one another's research
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Recent Examples of outdoing
As rumors have flown about this relentless Sacramento parking enforcement officer, Nakamura has quietly patrolled the streets, outdoing himself.
—
Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 15 Apr. 2026
The Bruins shot a dominant 58% from the field, well outdoing the solid 43% for the Trojans.
—Sean Campbell, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Inside was a spectacle of epic proportions, somehow outdoing even the LED not-robot from earlier.
—Jhair Romero, Houston Chronicle, 3 Mar. 2026
Nicole Kidman is batting 1,000 with her recent red-carpet and street style looks, but recently she's been outdoing herself with my favorite glam of her career.
—Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 15 Feb. 2026
Next came Unity—conceived, portentously, in the small Canadian town of Swastika—who, outdoing her sister, developed a girlhood crush on Hitler and moved to Germany to serve the Nazis.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Taylor Swift is taking a bow after outdoing everyone — including herself — on the Billboard charts with The Life of a Showgirl this week.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2025
The town has long been home to some of the world’s most remarkable ski resorts, each seemingly outdoing the last with grander lobbies, better views, and ever-more attentive service.
—Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Brands large and small spent much of the last 12 months outdoing each other in China, creating immersive experiences that tapped into local culture in a bid to woo aspirational customers, who have only just begun loosening their purse strings in what remains a difficult macro-economic environment.
—Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 15 Apr. 2026
The Bruins shot a dominant 58% from the field, well outdoing the solid 43% for the Trojans.
—Sean Campbell, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Inside was a spectacle of epic proportions, somehow outdoing even the LED not-robot from earlier.
—Jhair Romero, Houston Chronicle, 3 Mar. 2026
Nicole Kidman is batting 1,000 with her recent red-carpet and street style looks, but recently she's been outdoing herself with my favorite glam of her career.
—Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 15 Feb. 2026
Next came Unity—conceived, portentously, in the small Canadian town of Swastika—who, outdoing her sister, developed a girlhood crush on Hitler and moved to Germany to serve the Nazis.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Taylor Swift is taking a bow after outdoing everyone — including herself — on the Billboard charts with The Life of a Showgirl this week.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2025
The town has long been home to some of the world’s most remarkable ski resorts, each seemingly outdoing the last with grander lobbies, better views, and ever-more attentive service.
—Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Brands large and small spent much of the last 12 months outdoing each other in China, creating immersive experiences that tapped into local culture in a bid to woo aspirational customers, who have only just begun loosening their purse strings in what remains a difficult macro-economic environment.
—Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outdoing
Verb
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As a result, the Drought Severity and Coverage Index has reached 206, its highest point since 2012, surpassing a summer-to-autumn drought in 2023, Gerard wrote.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
24 May 2026
-
Vesia is now one of the veteran leaders in a Dodgers bullpen that set a franchise record Saturday with 36 consecutive scoreless innings, surpassing the mark of 33 set in 1998.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2026
Verb
-
The foundry division recorded a loss exceeding $10 billion in the last quarter.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
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That’s because the new fee study found that Encinitas is already exceeding its goal of setting aside 3% of its land for park areas, Councilmember Joy Lyndes said.—
Barbara Henry,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 May 2026
Verb
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Born on May 26, 1926 in Alton, Illinois, Davis would play with jazz giants such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Charles Mingus – before eclipsing them all to become the genre's biggest star.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
26 May 2026
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After being nearly a point-a-game producer and eclipsing 30 goals during the regular season as one of the Carolina Hurricanes' leading scorers, Andrei Svechnikov did not have much to show for his first 10 playoff games this spring.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Go for an ethereal look by swirling pale shades of purple, blue, pink, and white, and topping it all off with an icy white chrome.—
Kara Jillian Brown,
InStyle,
23 May 2026
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In April, the company reported its seventh-straight quarter of sales growth topping 60%.—
Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Outdoing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outdoing. Accessed 1 Jun. 2026.
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