excel

[ik-sel]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR excel ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), ex·celled, ex·cel·ling.

to surpass others or be superior in some respect or area; do extremely well: to excel in math.

verb (used with object), ex·celled, ex·cel·ling.

to surpass; be superior to; outdo: He excels all other poets of his day.

Origin of excel

1400–50; late Middle English excellen < Latin excellere, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + -cellere to rise high, tower (akin to celsus high)

Related formsun·ex·celled, adjectiveun·ex·cel·ling, adjective

Synonyms for excel

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR excel ON THESAURUS.COM

2. outstrip, eclipse, transcend, exceed, top, beat. 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for excel

shine, transcend, outdo, exceed, cap, beat, top, wax, eclipse, better, outshine, outstrip, pass, surmount, best, predominate, outrival

Examples from the Web for excel

Contemporary Examples of excel

Life seemed to have little meaning; a need to excel was almost gone.
How His West Point Football Experience Inspired Eisenhower
Nicolaus Mills
November 11, 2014
Can it be exported to Excel, or a comma-separated file, for instance?
Self-Tracking for N00bz
Jamie Todd Rubin
July 24, 2014
In her own way, Woodley is inspiring young women to succeed and excel.
Lana Del Rey and the Fault in Our ‘Feminist’ Stars
Amy Zimmerman
June 11, 2014
One of her deputy chiefs of staff keeps track of the tracker, an Excel spreadsheet, she says.
Obama’s Hidden Power Player
Eleanor Clift
May 12, 2014
It made my journey a longer one, but I really wanted to excel in the theater.
Meet the Red Viper: Pedro Pascal on Game of Thrones’ Kinky, Bisexual Hellraiser
Marlow Stern
March 26, 2014

Historical Examples of excel

But, in spite of these ordinary defects, he was fond of his work and wishful to excel in it.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
All his promotion had come from trying to excel in his routine work.
Heroes of the Telegraph
J. Munro
That is, he could work wonders like the fairies and excel the doctors in curing diseases.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
They do not hope to excel the Greeks, but are content to remain their pupils.
Introductory American History
Henry Eldridge Bourne
Thus is excited among those so brought together a spirit of competition, and a desire in their turn to excel.
Address delivered by Hon. Henry H. Crapo, Governor of Michigan, before the Central Michigan Agricultural Society, at their Sheep-shearing Exhibition held at the Agricultural College Farm, on Thursday, May 24th, 1866
Henry Howland Crapo

British Dictionary definitions for excel

excel

verb -cels, -celling or -celled

to be superior to (another or others); surpass

(intr; foll by in or at) to be outstandingly good or proficienthe excels at tennis

Word Origin for excel

C15: from Latin excellere to rise up

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 excel

c.1400, from Latin excellere "to rise, surpass, be eminent," from ex- "out from" (see ex-) + -cellere "rise high, tower," related to celsus "high, lofty, great," from PIE root *kel- "to rise, be elevated" (see hill). Related: Excelled; excelling.