outstrip
Americanverb (used with object)
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to outdo; surpass; excel.
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to outdo or pass in running or swift travel.
A car can outstrip the local train.
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to get ahead of or leave behind in a race or in any course of competition.
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to exceed.
a demand that outstrips the supply.
verb
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to surpass in a sphere of activity, competition, etc
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to be or grow greater than
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to go faster than and leave behind
Etymology
Origin of outstrip
Explanation
While outstrip might make you think about undressing, it really means outdoing. If the productivity of your garden outstrips your neighbor's, expect the neighborhood to come calling for fresh vegetables. If one thing outstrips another, it exceeds it or goes beyond it. When you outstrip someone during a race, you pass them. When one company’s profits outstrip another’s, they make more money. When the productivity of one nation outstrips the neighboring nation, they will have a bigger Gross National Product.
Vocabulary lists containing outstrip
Flowers for Algernon
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Grendel
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Sapiens
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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.
That demand for CPUs continues to outstrip Intel’s growing supply is a positive sign that trends are sustainable, he added.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026
Memory demand is expected to outstrip supply until mid-2027; an analyst forecasts continued price increases for Micron.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
Both Sinner and Alcaraz continue to elevate their games in an attempt to outstrip the other, while the rest of the ATP Tour lags way behind.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
His observation comes amid predictions that capital-intensity metrics will outstrip those from the dot-com era, as noted by Morgan Stanley analyst Todd Castagno last month.
From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026
This drumming could not outstrip that of the heavens, which opened up upon us with tattoo of rain so furious that it seemed to bring on night.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
