excel
Americanverb (used without object)
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excels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
excelled,
past participle, past
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excelling
present participle
verb (used with object)
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excels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
excelled,
past participle, past
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excelling
present participle
verb
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to be superior to (another or others); surpass
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(intr; foll by in or at) to be outstandingly good or proficient
he excels at tennis
Synonym Usage
Excel, outdo, surpass imply being better than others or being superior in achievement. To excel is to be superior in some quality, attainment, or performance: to excel opponents at playing chess. To outdo is to make more successful effort than others: to outdo competitors in the high jump. To surpass is to go beyond others, especially in a contest as to quality or ability: to surpass one's classmates in knowledge of corporation law.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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excelsimple
-
excelssimple
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have excelledperfect
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has excelledperfect
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am excellingprogressive
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are excellingprogressive
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is excellingprogressive
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have been excellingperfect progressive
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has been excellingperfect progressive
Past
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excelledsimple
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had excelledperfect
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was excellingprogressive
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were excellingprogressive
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had been excellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of excel
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French exceller, from Latin excellere, equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + -cellere “to rise high, tower” (akin to celsus “high”)
Explanation
If you excel at math, you are doing it better than anyone else. You might even be moving so much faster than the rest of your class, you're put into a special, accelerated math program. Excel derives from the Latin excellere, which is all about going beyond the high. Someone who excels at the violin might practice five hours a day because they are striving for excellence, meaning outstanding-ness. You could describe their performance as excellent, or fantastic. That doesn't mean you yourself want to practice five hours a day. Excel means to stand out, and some of us are pretty happy standing right where we are.
Vocabulary lists containing excel
Power Prefix: ex-
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"The Civil Rights Movement"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“I couldn’t throw a ball particularly well. I didn’t excel in sports,” he told talk show host Sheila Kuehl during a 1998 appearance on “Get Used to It.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
"Alberta's economy is unique. is fundamentally different than the rest of Canada's - we have the people, the institutions, the infrastructure to excel," he says.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
You sense that Sage Elsesser would excel in any endeavor he set out to master.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
“It’s an example of United Airlines being creative and putting destinations on the map where I don’t think any other airline would think about it, because you can’t square it off in an excel spreadsheet.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
“I am very glad to hear such a good account of her,” said Lady Catherine; “and pray tell her from me, that she cannot expect to excel if she does not practice a good deal.”
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
It also threads throughout a few clever nods to Bob Dylan, though how that element fits into the whole I’ve yet to fully figure out—just the kind of lingering headscratcher this festival excels at.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Google said Argon excels at complex tasks in software engineering, legal and financial work and cyber defense, with a leading ability to find and fix critical software flaws.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Crack open a new book: Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven, excels at writing about alternative futures.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
This is where the documentary excels - capturing the sheer surge of affection that greeted Oasis's return.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
This is one area Marv excels and delights in.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
The Wallabies excelled with some vibrant attacking rugby, scoring five tries against the back-to-back World Cup winners to lead by 25 points with 16 minutes left.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Tishler, Mr. Werth writes, excelled at the “unglamorous work” of making crude laboratory processes work at scale.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
I always excelled at swimming, so it’s the one thing I still love to do.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Although many prodigies are single-minded about their craft, Miles excelled in two sports in high school.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
He could not but have hope, he said, because her loveliness must surely mean that she excelled in gentle courtesy.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
After excelling in pre-season and leaving fans desperate to see more of the teenager, Ndukwe will still be able to play against Como in Liverpool's final friendly on 16 August.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
With Wirtz excelling at releasing runners between the lines, and Ekitike and Isak expected to occupy central defenders, Liverpool arguably need another player capable of attacking space rather than demanding the ball to feet.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
There was nothing wrong with the Madison, N.J., public school Ankur Jain’s 11-year-old son attended: Arjan was happy and excelling academically.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
But his brother Craig’s memorializing of him, “Armed Only With a Camera,” is oddly uninvolving, more an excerpted flipbook of Brent’s far-flung assignments than a meaningful portrait of excelling at a dangerous job.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
“Oh, good. I wasn’t really excelling so far today....”
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
