excel
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
-
to be superior to (another or others); surpass
-
(intr; foll by in or at) to be outstandingly good or proficient
he excels at tennis
Related Words
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
- unexcelled adjective
- unexcelling adjective
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”)
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.
Joshi explains to parents that excelling at football could ultimately help their girls get jobs, as Indian states set aside some public sector roles for sportsmen and women.
From BBC
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
Those who see him on a daily basis at Liverpool describe him as highly competitive with a clear desire to excel.
From BBC
He said: "I felt like I was driven out of the career I trained hard to achieve and excelled at."
From BBC
The musical-theater singers excelled in theatricality and diction, but I missed some of the lushness that we expect from opera performances.
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.
