outpace
Americanverb (used with object)
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outpaces,
present (3rd person singular)
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outpaced,
past participle, past
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outpacing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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outpacesimple
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outpacessimple
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have outpacedperfect
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has outpacedperfect
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am outpacingprogressive
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are outpacingprogressive
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is outpacingprogressive
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have been outpacingperfect progressive
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has been outpacingperfect progressive
Past
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outpacedsimple
-
had outpacedperfect
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was outpacingprogressive
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were outpacingprogressive
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had been outpacingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of outpace
Explanation
To outpace is to move faster or to improve more quickly than someone else. A runner who outpaces everyone else will win the race. You can brag that your bicycle outpaces your friend's motorcycle, or comment that a six year-old easily outpaces her little brother at the playground. There are also companies that outpace their competition, by developing a new technology or product faster. Economists often talk about prices, sales, or growth that outpaces previous examples.
Vocabulary lists containing outpace
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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:
“We’re raising our financial outlook for 2026 as demand continues to outpace expectations across several key markets,” Chief Executive Jennifer Rumsey said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
The company’s stock surged 16% after its earnings quelled concerns that investments in data centers, chips and more would outpace the company’s ability to generate cash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The AI cloud market boasts attractive returns on investment, Beck added, as demand for compute capacity continues to outpace supply.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
“New rules are needed for this new tech frontier—not to stifle innovation, but to make sure our innovations do not outpace our protections,” Texas Republican Rep. Nathaniel Moran wrote on social media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
There was no point in trying to outpace the CCD boat; they’d have to hide, and the only hiding place in sight was a wooded hill with an overgrown grassy space just above the waterline.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
This rate of growth dramatically outpaces normal household expenses, medical care, and even housing over the same multidecade period, it says.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
“This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” said Sid Shuman, Sony’s senior director of content communications.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
"This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs," it added.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
When betting on the artificial-intelligence trade outpaces gains in the world’s biggest digital currency by more than 200%, you know you’re witnessing a sea change in the global investment zeitgeist.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
She quickly outpaces me, and seconds later, I’m behind her by at least six feet.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
One issue is that property prices have outpaced incomes across many decades.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Rising earnings forecasts have even outpaced gains for stocks at the index level, FactSet data showed.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
The eurozone economy outpaced U.S. growth in the second quarter, though June’s retail-sales data reinforces the view that consumption wasn’t a major driver, ING economist Peter Vanden Houte said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
It’s an indication that decades of efforts to clear flammable plants around homes and fortify their exteriors against flames, heat and embers are being outpaced by increasingly extreme wildfire behavior and construction in fire-prone areas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
Yet the increase in births still outpaced the increase in deaths; humans kept having larger numbers of children.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Meanwhile wages and benefits have typically been outpacing inflation this year, lessening the squeeze for many - so far.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Major packaged-goods companies, retailers and food makers are seeing substantial increases in overseas revenue that are outpacing slowing domestic sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Since the government’s entry, Intel has delivered returns of 304.8% — far outpacing the S&P’s 19.8% gain over the same period.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Eight of those were lawyers licensed to practice law in California, outpacing the six cases reported in all of 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Heading west, we surge onward, outpacing the pack.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
