surmount
Americanverb (used with object)
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surmounts,
present (3rd person singular)
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surmounted,
past participle, past
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surmounting
present participle
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to mount upon; get on the top of; mount upon and cross over.
to surmount a hill.
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to get over or across (barriers, obstacles, etc.).
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to prevail over.
to surmount tremendous difficulties.
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to be on top of or above.
a statue surmounting a pillar.
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to furnish with something placed on top or above.
to surmount a tower with a spire.
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Obsolete.
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to surpass in excellence.
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to exceed in amount.
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verb
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to prevail over; overcome
to surmount tremendous difficulties
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to ascend and cross to the opposite side of
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to lie on top of or rise above
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to put something on top of or above
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obsolete to surpass or exceed
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
surmountsimple
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surmountssimple
-
have surmountedperfect
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has surmountedperfect
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am surmountingprogressive
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are surmountingprogressive
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is surmountingprogressive
-
have been surmountingperfect progressive
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has been surmountingperfect progressive
Past
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surmountedsimple
-
had surmountedperfect
-
was surmountingprogressive
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were surmountingprogressive
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had been surmountingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of surmount
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Anglo-French sormonter, surmounter, Old French sor(e)monter, s(o)urmonter; see sur- 1, mount 1
Explanation
If you surmount a challenge or difficult situation, you're not just getting over it. You're outdoing yourself, exceeding expectations, and overcoming the task at hand. This word comes to us from the Old French verb for mount, or climb. Maria sang "climb every mountain..." in The Sound of Music. But she could have just as well meant "surmount every obstacle" — because to surmount means to both reach the highest point of something, like a mountain, and to totally overcome a mountain-size problem.
Vocabulary lists containing surmount
"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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On Your Mark, Get Set, Commence Your Life!
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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:
Sometimes, even the best-laid plans can’t surmount a brick wall.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 23, 2026
When Franklin Roosevelt signed the law creating the Federal Housing Administration in 1934, the country’s political class, or most of it, assumed the government could surmount any problem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
Elwood is convinced he can surmount obstacles; Turner is resigned to going around them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2024
The results have implications for efforts to help children with hearing loss surmount initial language delays caused by a lack of auditory input and access to speech sounds before they receive cochlear implants.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2024
To the dismay of the Japanese climbers, however, the ladder was falling apart and had become partially detached from the rock, so ninety minutes of strenuous climbing were required to surmount this 20-foot cliff.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
The line surmounts central Tacoma’s steep slope by climbing north of downtown, followed by a U-turn into Martin Luther King, Jr. Way South.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 22, 2023
Each arrives at a version of freedom that surmounts the original constraints.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 17, 2021
But when the Red Woman reminds her that she’s been training very nearly her whole life for this, she surmounts her fear.
From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2019
Name-recognition, either through the media or word-of-mouth within cadres of art collectors, surmounts all.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2017
The dogs fall silent at the edge of my spell, and where the king’s hall surmounts the town, the blind old Shaper, harp clutched tight to his fragile chest, stares futilely down, straight at me.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
Stocks have also surmounted another potential threat: The revival of the conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
There are many engineering challenges that would have to be surmounted to make such a system operational, says Cohen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Newsom, 58, a former San Francisco mayor who was born to a wealthy and well-connected San Francisco family, suggested in the CBS interview that he had already surmounted significant obstacles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2025
The researchers have now surmounted this security vulnerability by leveraging terahertz waves to develop an antitampering ID tag that still offers the benefits of being tiny, cheap, and secure.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 19, 2024
Illumination came from a roaring fire beneath a handsome marble mantelpiece surmounted by a gilded mirror.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Pianists have to stay on the job, maintaining composure and surmounting anxieties, so that their work acquires the necessary finish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
The band discusses their challenges without being deterred or overwhelmed by their situation, enduring and surmounting life's trials and tribulations with unapologetic grace and determination.
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2024
The paper also provides examples of how people are surmounting some of these obstacles.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 16, 2023
It’s associated with pleasure and the expectation or experience of a reward, which can include the surmounting of a threat “such as overcoming fear, winning a race, receiving respect and approbation from others,” Spiegel says.
From National Geographic ● Oct. 16, 2023
When they were able to arrange a meeting, surmounting all of Blanca’s usual obstacles in addition to the new ones imposed by Pedro’s job, they would find themselves more full of anguish than desire.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
