as in surpassed
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 outdone
Our 250th birthday energy can’t be outdone.
—
Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2026
This time, it's outdone itself, building a hybrid roof tent/pop-up camper specially for the Tesla Model 3 and then evolving it into a more practical micro-camping trailer for any vehicle.
—New Atlas, 30 Dec. 2025
Not to be outdone, tight end Mitchell Evans — the team’s second fifth-round pick — chipped in a trio of catches for 23 yards.
—Charlotte Observer, 22 Dec. 2025
Not to be outdone, silver has also been gaining momentum, with the price of silver currently hovering above $69 per ounce (as of December 22, 2025).
—Tim Maxwell, CBS News, 22 Dec. 2025
He was outdone only by Kevin Durant, who scored 31 and shot 5 for 6 from deep.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Dec. 2025
Not to be outdone by the entertainers, several cross-sports icons will also serve as draw assistants, including NFL icon Tom Brady, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neill, all-time ice hockey great Wayne Gretzky and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 3 Dec. 2025
My fear of falling was outdone by my fear of peeing.
—Betty Fussell, PEOPLE, 1 Dec. 2025
Comparable in size to NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) developed for the Artemis moon campaign, New Glenn is one of the largest active rockets in the United States – only outdone by SpaceX's approximately 400-foot Starship.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2026
This time, it's outdone itself, building a hybrid roof tent/pop-up camper specially for the Tesla Model 3 and then evolving it into a more practical micro-camping trailer for any vehicle.
—New Atlas, 30 Dec. 2025
Not to be outdone, tight end Mitchell Evans — the team’s second fifth-round pick — chipped in a trio of catches for 23 yards.
—Charlotte Observer, 22 Dec. 2025
Not to be outdone, silver has also been gaining momentum, with the price of silver currently hovering above $69 per ounce (as of December 22, 2025).
—Tim Maxwell, CBS News, 22 Dec. 2025
He was outdone only by Kevin Durant, who scored 31 and shot 5 for 6 from deep.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Dec. 2025
Not to be outdone by the entertainers, several cross-sports icons will also serve as draw assistants, including NFL icon Tom Brady, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neill, all-time ice hockey great Wayne Gretzky and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 3 Dec. 2025
My fear of falling was outdone by my fear of peeing.
—Betty Fussell, PEOPLE, 1 Dec. 2025
Comparable in size to NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) developed for the Artemis moon campaign, New Glenn is one of the largest active rockets in the United States – only outdone by SpaceX's approximately 400-foot Starship.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outdone
Verb
-
The number surpassed the historical pre-pandemic average by 37 percent, but remained significantly lower than the 2019 attendance figure of 1,351,000.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
29 Jan. 2026
-
California’s budgets became dependent on a relatively few high-income taxpayers over the last four decades, as income taxes surpassed sales taxes to become the most important revenue source.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The company said the Series F funding round had exceeded a $15B target, with investors including Valor Equity Partners, Stepstone Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Qatar Investment Authority, MGX and Baron Capital Group, along with previous investors Nvidia and Cisco Investments.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
7 Jan. 2026
-
As of late 2025, cumulative shipments of the 587Ah platform have exceeded 2 GWh.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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His picture topped newspapers across the country under headlines announcing that the killer had surrendered.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The company’s share of its agreement with California — $55 million — is barely a speck on its balance sheet; revenue for Alphabet, Google’s parent company, topped $102 billion in its most recent quarterly earnings report.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Spot gold eclipsed $5,100 an ounce for the first time on Monday before pulling back.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Yesterday was a disaster only eclipsed by Mondays statement made by Buffalo Bills regarding Sean's dismissal.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Every product was determined to have excelled in each category by our editorial team, which is composed of in-house writers and editors as well as contributors—along with special consideration from dermatologists.—
Lily Wohlner,
Allure,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Still, in Premier League terms, both excelled.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Outdone.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outdone. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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