outperform

American

[out-per-fawrm] / ˌaʊt pərˈfɔrm /

verb (used with object)

to surpass in excellence of performance; do better than.

a new engine that outperforms the competition; a stock that outperformed all others.

outperform British

/ ˌaʊtpəˈfɔːm /

verb

to perform better than (someone or something)

"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 outperform

First recorded in 1955–60; out- + perform

Explanation

To outperform is to accomplish something in a better or more impressive way that someone else. In a marathon, the younger runners usually outperform the very oldest ones. Whenever you surpass or beat the record of another person, you can say you outperform them. Experienced workers frequently outperform newer employees, and pundits like to worry aloud about students in other countries who outperform American kids on standardized tests. You can also say that an investment that makes more money outperforms a less profitable one.

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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.

Day made clear that defined-outcome or buffered ETFs were not designed to outperform underlying stock indexes.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026

Investors will be watching to see if the private gauges outperform official ones again, but beyond the headline figures, focus will also be on indicators of orders, employment and input costs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

But three things have since changed for Intel, according to Lipacis, who upgraded the stock to outperform from in-line following Thursday afternoon’s earnings report.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

The digital currency tends to outperform when investors lean into risk assets, which have been buoyed recently by the prospects of a sustained peace in Iran.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

Desaguliers and a friend later built models of both the Savery and the Newcomen engines: despite his extraordinary expertise, Desaguliers was plainly taken aback to see the Savery engine outperform the Newcomen engine.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023