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
-
Freeland, 33, had just pitched 1,313 1/3 major league innings, all in a Rockies uniform, surpassing Aaron Cook (1,312 1/3) for the franchise record.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
8 June 2026
-
Since then, the number of visitors to Huangshan — known as the most marvelous mountain in China — has only grown, surpassing 5 million for the first time last year.—
Jennifer Jett,
NBC news,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
The drone boat has supposedly survived a range of sea states that included waves exceeding five feet in height.—
Jeremy Hsu,
ArsTechnica,
9 June 2026
-
Kansas City has gotten off to one of its wettest starts on record, with April and May driving the total and far exceeding normal precipitation for those two months.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
9 June 2026
Verb
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With an average unit cost hovering around $800,000 for the first three broadcasts of this year’s Finals, Disney is already close to eclipsing last season’s seven-game ad haul, which EDO AdEngage estimates pegged at $288 million.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
11 June 2026
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Key Facts The move arrives just days after the company closed a $65 billion round that valued it at $965 billion—eclipsing rival OpenAI and cementing its status as the most valuable startup in artificial intelligence.—
Alicia Park,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Current Paramount Global Marketing and Distribution Czar Josh Goldstine gets applause for a brilliant, viral campaign with social content topping 1 billion views.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
7 June 2026
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This includes odors in the fridge that might otherwise seep into your leftovers, as well as direct heat that could over-brown a crumb topping or pie crust in the oven.—
Darcy Lenz,
Southern Living,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Outdoing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outdoing. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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