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Synonyms

outdistance

American  
[out-dis-tuhns] / ˌaʊtˈdɪs təns /

verb (used with object)

outdistanced, outdistancing
  1. to leave behind, as in running; outstrip.

    The winning horse outdistanced the second-place winner by five lengths.


outdistance British  
/ ˌaʊtˈdɪstəns /

verb

  1. (tr) to leave far behind

"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

Etymology

Origin of outdistance

First recorded in 1855–60; out- + distance

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:

Uno finished with 312.48 points to easily outdistance Yuma Kagiyama, who finished second to his Japanese teammate in both the short program and free skate.

From Seattle Times Mar. 26, 2022

They earned 55 of 63 first-place votes to easily outdistance No. 2 UCLA, which earned the other eight.

From Fox News Oct. 18, 2021

If it is right, it will increase its workers’ loyalty and outdistance earthbound competitors.

From New York Times Jul. 23, 2021

The Quarter Horse is an American breed of horses that excels in sprinting short distances and the name comes from its ability to outdistance other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less.

From Washington Times Oct. 4, 2015

Andrew urged me, and although I could keep up with Andrew we did not have enough wind to outdistance the Kid.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

While gold miner stocks have outdistanced gold during the first 50 weeks of the year, they were hit hard when gold hit a rough patch this fall.

From Barron's Dec. 16, 2025

Verse, the only Rams player to be voted to the Pro Bowl, outdistanced teammate Braden Fiske, Philadelphia Eagles defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean and Miami Dolphins linebacker Chop Robinson for the award.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 6, 2025

As performances outdistanced the date of composition with each passing year, opera began to resemble an attempt at historical preservation rather than a dynamic art form.

From Salon Oct. 6, 2024

Mahomes, who also won in 2018, easily outdistanced Jalen Hurts, receiving 48 of 50 first-place votes from a nationwide panel of media members who regularly cover the league.

From Washington Times Feb. 9, 2023

Hen Wen had either stopped running or had outdistanced him.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

"We're at 316 at noon, so we are outdistancing anything this particular precinct has ever seen."

From Salon Nov. 5, 2024

In 1990, Bob Welch, who posted a 27-6 record for the Oakland Athletics, won the American League Cy Young Award, comfortably outdistancing Roger Clemens, who was 21-6 for the Boston Red Sox.

From New York Times Dec. 11, 2021

Those same polls show Larry Elder outdistancing his GOP rivals to replace Newsom by a wide margin.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 14, 2021

That represents a whopping 50.7% turnover rate for this subset of players, far outdistancing the average annual NFL roster turnover rate of 36.2%.

From Seattle Times Jul. 30, 2021

In the hysteria that followed over Soviet scientists’ apparent outdistancing their American counterparts, a new group of technical advisors was brought into the White House.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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