outrun
verb (used with object)
to run faster or farther than.
had outrun
-
past perfectof outrun.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.
For a short time it seemed they had outrun the threat by getting to the city of Lviv, close to the Polish border.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2022
By mid-June, Hidalgo worried that the virus had outrun their best efforts.
From New York Times ● Jul. 14, 2020
I didn’t like admitting it, but since my time with Rocky, I’d become a bit of a skeptic: maybe the hype had outrun the reality.
From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2012
Industry innovation, as it often does, had outrun and overpowered the government's regulatory prowess, with disastrous results.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 25, 2010
Oh, he was not lying; his own triumph had outrun him; he had builded even better in evil than even he could have hoped.
From "Absalom, Absalom!" by William Faulkner
