surpass
Americanverb (used with object)
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surpasses,
present (3rd person singular)
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surpassed,
past participle, past
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surpassing
present participle
verb
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to be greater than in degree, extent, etc
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to be superior to in achievement or excellence
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to overstep the limit or range of
the theory surpasses my comprehension
Synonym Usage
See excel.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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surpasssimple
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surpassessimple
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have surpassedperfect
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has surpassedperfect
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am surpassingprogressive
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are surpassingprogressive
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is surpassingprogressive
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have been surpassingperfect progressive
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has been surpassingperfect progressive
Past
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surpassedsimple
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had surpassedperfect
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was surpassingprogressive
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were surpassingprogressive
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had been surpassingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of surpass
First recorded in 1545–55; from Middle French surpasser; equivalent to sur- 1 + pass
Explanation
To surpass means to outdo someone or something, to go beyond what was expected. If you do better than you think you will, you will surpass your own expectations. Some words seem to exist just to give an extra oomph to your speech, and surpass is one of these. While you could just say passed or even outdid" saying surpass seems to indicate that a person (or some other thing that performs, like a company) has really gone beyond anything you anticipated. People tend to use this word a lot before the words expectations and predictions among others, because of course surpassing is all about "surpassing something."
Vocabulary lists containing surpass
Grade 9, List 2
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Trumps
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This Week In Words: March 29–April 4, 2020
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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:
This will surpass the previous record of three days, which is currently shared by 1990, 2003, 2020 and 2026.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
“If they are able to surpass, for example, Algebra 1 or wherever they are, we are able to supplement the curriculum, challenging them constantly.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
This week's heatwave is forecast to see temperatures once again surpass 35C.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Mr. Thompson would later estimate that the state’s total fraud could surpass $9 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
On this score Burnham had no plan other than somehow to surpass Eiffel.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
The new germano-silicate platform substantially surpasses silicon nitride in this part of the spectrum.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
Then-CEO Hassabis founded the company in 2010 with the goal of achieving artificial general intelligence, or AGI — an AI system that matches or surpasses human capabilities.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
That surpasses the total for 2025, a year that had already shattered records, with 2,289 cases and three deaths including two young children.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
His record surpasses Coldplay's 10-night run last summer, as well as Swift's eight nights at the stadium in 2024.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
The organization surpasses itself in that kind of thing.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
They’ve surpassed $2 billion in sales for Starbucks, as they’ve launched an ever-sprawling genre of refresher varieties: water-based, lemonade-based, coconut milk–based, chili-dusted, frozen and blended.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
Critics have debated in the build-up to Makhachev's bout with Machado Garry if his achievements have surpassed team-mate and coach Khabib Nurmagomedov.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Form Energy’s fundraising has surpassed $2 billion for batteries that can continuously run for 100 hours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
That large infusion, along with thousands of smaller donations, surpassed the fundraising goal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
When I gave them creative license, they surpassed my expectations.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
For a brief period, the energy being released reached roughly 400 billion times the output of Earth's Sun, surpassing even the most powerful supernovae known to astronomers.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Capital expenditures for the quarter reached $9.4 billion, surpassing Wall Street estimates of $8.2 billion.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
It levies harsh penalties for surpassing certain player salary thresholds, adding extensive roster-building restrictions to straightforward fines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
The move represents a new record fee for a British goalkeeper, surpassing the previous benchmark of £30m which Everton paid Sunderland for Jordan Pickford in 2017.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
The world of systemic insecticides is a weird world, surpassing the imaginings of the brothers Grimm — perhaps most closely akin to the cartoon world of Charles Addams.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
