excel
Americanverb (used without object)
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excels,
present (3rd person singular)
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excelled,
past participle, past
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excelling
present participle
verb (used with object)
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excels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
excelled,
past participle, past
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excelling
present participle
verb
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to be superior to (another or others); surpass
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(intr; foll by in or at) to be outstandingly good or proficient
he excels at tennis
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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excelsimple
-
excelssimple
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have excelledperfect
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has excelledperfect
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am excellingprogressive
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are excellingprogressive
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is excellingprogressive
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have been excellingperfect progressive
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has been excellingperfect progressive
Past
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excelledsimple
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had excelledperfect
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was excellingprogressive
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were excellingprogressive
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had been excellingperfect progressive
Future
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”)
Explanation
If you excel at math, you are doing it better than anyone else. You might even be moving so much faster than the rest of your class, you're put into a special, accelerated math program. Excel derives from the Latin excellere, which is all about going beyond the high. Someone who excels at the violin might practice five hours a day because they are striving for excellence, meaning outstanding-ness. You could describe their performance as excellent, or fantastic. That doesn't mean you yourself want to practice five hours a day. Excel means to stand out, and some of us are pretty happy standing right where we are.
Vocabulary lists containing excel
Power Prefix: ex-
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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:
“I couldn’t throw a ball particularly well. I didn’t excel in sports,” he told talk show host Sheila Kuehl during a 1998 appearance on “Get Used to It.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
"Alberta's economy is unique. is fundamentally different than the rest of Canada's - we have the people, the institutions, the infrastructure to excel," he says.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
You sense that Sage Elsesser would excel in any endeavor he set out to master.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
In her book and in the media, Panettiere has discussed the pressure her mother placed on her to excel as an actress from an early age.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
I am sure I would excel at homework.
From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate
Google said Argon excels at complex tasks in software engineering, legal and financial work and cyber defense, with a leading ability to find and fix critical software flaws.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
One reason is that most software development isn’t about writing code, where AI excels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
This is where the documentary excels - capturing the sheer surge of affection that greeted Oasis's return.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
But where the PetPhone genuinely excels is location tracking.
From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2026
I don’t actually know this, but Camille excels at everything she tries—school, band, friends.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
The Wallabies excelled with some vibrant attacking rugby, scoring five tries against the back-to-back World Cup winners to lead by 25 points with 16 minutes left.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
At Central High, I excelled in basketball and baseball, earning all-city honors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Although many prodigies are single-minded about their craft, Miles excelled in two sports in high school.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Khan was voted in by millions of Pakistanis who grew up watching him play cricket, where he excelled as an all-rounder and led the nation to a World Cup victory in 1992.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
I didn’t expect him to excel at everything, but Donovan excelled at nothing.
From "Ungifted" by Gordon Korman
There was nothing wrong with the Madison, N.J., public school Ankur Jain’s 11-year-old son attended: Arjan was happy and excelling academically.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
Having played at two of the past three major tournaments, he knows excelling at a club like United can propel anyone into the international limelight.
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2026
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 ● Feb. 20, 2026
In high school, Jackson did well - being elected as class president and excelling in nearly every kind of team sport.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026
Despite excelling there, and getting high SAT scores, he didn’t get his first college choices.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
