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outshine

[out-shahyn]
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verb (used with object), out·shone or out·shined, out·shin·ing.
  1. to surpass in shining; shine more brightly than.
  2. to surpass in splendor, ability, achievement, excellence, etc.: a product that outshone all competitors; to outshine one's classmates.
verb (used without object), out·shone or out·shined, out·shin·ing.
  1. to shine out or forth: a small light outshining in the darkness.

Origin of outshine

First recorded in 1590–1600; out- + shine1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for outshine

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • In all the firmament of poetry there was no star to outshine his.

    William Shakespeare

    Samuel Levy Bensusan

  • You cannot imagine what a woman will do in order to get a new dress, in which to outshine her rival.

    Caught In The Net

    Emile Gaboriau

  • I have no ambition to outshine him, nor William Shakespere nor any other erudite.

    Black Beaver

    James Campbell Lewis

  • A wife should outshine her husband in nothing, not even in her dress.

  • You could outshine all the gilded youth I know, and hold your own with the best.

    A Pessimist

    Robert Timsol

British Dictionary definitions for outshine

outshine

verb -shines, -shining or -shone
  1. (tr) to shine more brightly than
  2. (tr) to surpass in excellence, beauty, wit, etc
  3. (intr) rare to emit light
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for outshine

v.

1590s, from out (adv.) + shine (v.). Perhaps coined by Spenser. Figurative sense of "to surpass in splendor or excellence" is from 1610s. Related: Outshone; outshining.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper