outdo
Americanverb (used with object)
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outdoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
outdid,
past
-
outdone,
past participle
-
outdoing
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
See excel.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
outdosimple
-
outdoessimple
-
have outdoneperfect
-
has outdoneperfect
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am outdoingprogressive
-
are outdoingprogressive
-
is outdoingprogressive
-
have been outdoingperfect progressive
-
has been outdoingperfect progressive
Past
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outdidsimple
-
had outdoneperfect
-
was outdoingprogressive
-
were outdoingprogressive
-
had been outdoingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of outdo
Explanation
To outdo is to beat or surpass: when you outdo your brother in a pie-eating contest, you manage to gobble down more lemon meringue than he does. You'll probably regret it later, but at least you'll have that blue ribbon! Anyone who outdoes another person wins against them in some contest, whether it's an actual competition or an unstated rivalry. You can also outdo your own record, like when you outdo last semester's grades with the help of all the As you get in English. And you can cheer for your favorite basketball team as they outdo their opponents by easily winning the game.
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:
CEO transitions not linked to activists saw the companies’ stocks outdo the S&P 500 by 2.5% the first year and 4% after two years.
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
Even in abnormal political times, competition can be healthy, spurring journalists to match or outdo rival outlets.
From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2026
I’m now the father of three grown children who are poised to outdo their parents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
The pitchers rode off the momentum and relished in their shared success; to the point that Roberts joked they almost seemed to be competing to outdo one another.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025
She raises her finger high in the air, turning so that the whole audience can absorb that she is about to outdo the elephant once and for all.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Hi Life opened in 2022 in that former auto shop you pass coming off the ferry, and the small space outdoes itself with an overwhelming menu and a super-happy vibe.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2023
And the plagiarism that these AI algorithms partake in is so subtle that it outdoes plagiarism in the ordinary sense: it takes other people’s work and synthesizes sources in ways typically untraceable.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 28, 2023
But somehow it outdoes everything that has come before with its mix of technical proficiency, emotional stakes and Looney Tunes-style tumbles.
From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2023
The Hollywood Reporter said Chapter 4 "outdoes its formidable predecessors in nearly every respect".
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2023
He outdoes even the "pillar" Quakers, his contemporaries in later life, in his proclamation of a Divine Root and Seed in the soul of man.
From Spiritual Reformers in the 16th & 17th Centuries by Jones, Rufus Matthew
If this Coachella performance proves anything, it’s that they’ve gone and outdid themselves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
There’s stiff competition for that position, to be sure, but he outdid himself with this dissent.
From Slate ● Mar. 13, 2026
Adolf Hitler outdid Napoleon as history’s greatest art thief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
But he outdid himself at the Gaza summit in Egypt by telling Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that she should stop smoking.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2025
And then she outdid herself, and outdid everyone in our part of the country.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Not to be outdone, Ohtani led off the fifth inning with a single, but the Dodgers failed to score.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
But not to be outdone by his opposite number, Jordan hit back for the hosts with a fine finish, dotting down in the corner despite Theo Attissogbe's last-ditch attempt to shove him into touch.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
As he told Womack, “As soon as I knew what music was, I immediately became obsessed with The Beatles. Within a few years we had completely outdone our parents in terms of fandom.”
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
Over the last year it has been outdone only by rival Sandisk among large-cap stocks.
From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026
The ants started a single-file parade up the side of Our Lady, drawn by the honey, and not to be outdone, a handful of scout bees showed up and landed on Our Lady’s head.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
That’s not stopping some well-heeled tech companies from trying to keep outdoing each other in showing off higher-quality AI video generation at longer durations.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
That makes India a key market for planemakers, especially Airbus which has bagged the bulk of new orders, outdoing U.S. rival Boeing, and engine manufacturers whose wares will be put to test.
From Reuters ● Jun. 20, 2023
The Pacific Northwest is expecting the most unusual weather event for mid-May, with the region now outdoing its southern neighbors with extreme heat.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2023
"We're always going to be outdoing ourselves," says Renée.
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2023
The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savory puddings, and only Fleur Delacour seemed to be able to find anything to complain about.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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.
