outdraw
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to draw a gun, revolver, etc., from a holster, faster than (an opponent or competitor).
She could outdraw any member of the club.
-
to prove a greater attraction than; exceed in attracting an audience, patrons, attention, etc..
She outdraws all male stars at the box office.
Etymology
Origin of outdraw
Explanation
In a classic Old West showdown, one gunslinger would typically outdraw the other, and he would be the winner. In other words, he would pull his gun from its holster faster and live to tell the story. People sometimes also use the verb outdraw to mean "attract a larger crowd" — like the World Series might outdraw your favorite prime-time game show. The word draw has been used since around 1200 to mean "pull a gun out," and its Old English root dragan means "to drag or carry." And somewhere along the way, draw started to mean "attraction" — like the goody bags at the end of a birthday party are a big draw.
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:
Put Joshua and Fury almost anywhere - their strongholds of Watford or Morecambe, or Wembley Stadium - and it would still outdraw most fights on the planet.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026
Not even a bunch of bishops covering “Mean Girls” can outdraw Blake Lively.
From Salon ● May 10, 2025
While the Super Bowl continues to lead championship viewing - this year’s game had a combined audience of 112.3 million - the World Cup final did outdraw other sports.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
While the Super Bowl continues to lead championship viewing — this year’s game had a combined audience of 112.3 million — the World Cup final did outdraw other sports.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
But in spite of the differences, he would have laughed if anyone had told him five minutes before that he couldn't outdraw a man who was standing with his back turned.
From Anything You Can Do ... by Randall Garrett
They have millions and millions of views on YouTube, regularly outdrawing postings of full “Weekend Update” segments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
The 15th theatrical feature, “One Piece Film: Red,” was the No. 1 box-office hit in Japan in 2022, outdrawing “Top Gun: Maverick.”
From New York Times ● Aug. 29, 2023
A team spokesperson said attendance for the weekday session was 3,000, outdrawing what the team averaged in 2019 when the Burgundy and Gold spent the first two weeks of training camp in Richmond.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
The Grays split their time between D.C. and Pittsburgh, often outdrawing the Washington Senators in their own ballpark, Griffith Stadium.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 6, 2022
As Billboard’s headline trumpets, “I Like It” makes her the only female rapper in Hot 100 history with two chart-toppers, outdrawing such prior No. 1 lead performers as Lauryn Hill and Iggy Azalea.
From Slate ● Jul. 5, 2018
They were getting outdrawn in their arena by an indoor soccer team, the Chicago Sting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2020
The Chicago Cubs and even the Washington Nationals, with their khaki-and-white-shirt interns and lobbyist fans, have outdrawn the Mets of late.
From New York Times ● Sep. 16, 2019
As an added indignity, the decisive fifth game was outdrawn by a regular-season National Football League contest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2016
Since the start of 2009, it has outdrawn its BlackRock counterpart in deposits by more than seven-to-one.
From BusinessWeek ● Dec. 11, 2012
In front, outdrawn upon a little ridge, stood the guns and boomed defiance.
From The Long Roll by Mary Johnston
In 1964, the year Shea Stadium opened, the Mets outdrew the Yankees, even while losing 109 games.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
Bad Bunny’s 13-minute halftime show outdrew the game itself, averaging 128.2 million viewers, Nielsen reported.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 10, 2026
Staley and her South Carolina Gamecocks’ victory over Clark and Iowa for the women’s national championship game outdrew the men in television ratings, and this is shaping up to be the WNBA’s most-watched draft.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 15, 2024
In the end, the Seattle region outdrew its South Carolina counterpart by a few thousand.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 29, 2023
Since the fourth Creation morning When their God from dust outdrew them, Not one plume has from them perished, And not one bird been added to them.
From A Celtic Psaltery by Alfred Perceval Graves
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
