outnumber
verb (used with object)
to exceed in number.
had outnumbered
-
past perfectof outnumber.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
She’s cognizant of the ups and downs of her career — and how, of late, the downs had outnumbered the ups.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2025
The government said on Tuesday that deaths last year in China had outnumbered births for the first time in decades.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2023
It was the first time deaths had outnumbered births in China since the early 1960s, when the Great Leap Forward, Mao Zedong’s failed economic experiment, led to widespread famine and death.
From New York Times ● Jan. 16, 2023
I had visited the ballroom the previous day in the company of a gaggle of executives from Blackpool council, who on a sunny Friday afternoon had outnumbered the couples dancing.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 27, 2010
That he was outnumbered did not matter because the whole world had outnumbered him long ago, and what do numbers matter?
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
