verb
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to stay longer than
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to stay beyond (a limit)
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See overstay
Etymology
Origin of outstay
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.
Howe is always well attuned to the feelings of supporters, insisting he would never outstay his welcome, and Newcastle are currently 14th in the Premier League.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
Not so with “Burt,” the movie equivalent of a cherry sour drop on a day when you need something a little tart, a tad sweet and that won’t outstay its welcome.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025
"The worst thing you can do with a comedy is to outstay your welcome."
From Salon ● Nov. 11, 2024
“I didn’t want to outstay my welcome,” he said on a recent video call, from the study of his home in Portland, Ore., a black-and-white diptych of the playwright Samuel Beckett behind him.
From New York Times ● Jan. 16, 2023
I’ve got two weeks here—I need to make absolutely sure I don’t outstay my welcome.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
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.
