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outdo

[out-doo]
verb (used with object), out·did, out·done, out·do·ing.
  1. to surpass in execution or performance: The cook outdid himself last night.
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Origin of outdo

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at out-, do1

Synonyms

See excel.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

transcend, outstrip, outsmart, eclipse, excel, outclass, outmaneuver, outshine, outfox, surpass, outdistance, bulldoze, exceed, lick, beat, top, snow, down, defeat, cook

Examples from the Web for outdid

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • But when she formed a woman—it was then first, that she outdid herself, and improved her own design.

    Imogen

    William Godwin

  • So they outdid one another in the hope of reinstating themselves.

    The Web of the Golden Spider

    Frederick Orin Bartlett

  • In the 1601 Mark Twain outdid himself in the Elizabethan field.

  • But the blue waves were the heavier; in mass alone they outdid the grey.

    The Long Roll

    Mary Johnston

  • But at that word the woman caught fire, blazed up, and outdid him in rage.

    In Kings' Byways

    Stanley J. Weyman

British Dictionary definitions for outdid

outdo

verb -does, -doing, -did or -done
  1. (tr) to surpass or exceed in performance or execution
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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