outstand
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
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(intr) to be outstanding or excel
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(intr) nautical to stand out to sea
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archaic (tr) to last beyond
Usage
What does outstand mean? To outstand is to stay or remain beyond, as in Mattie outstood the rain during the long hike and managed to reach the end. To outstand is also to be prominent or surpassing. When you outstand someone else, you are more prominent, conspicuous, or striking than the other person (go, you!). You might outstand someone in terms of social status, physical size, beauty, charisma, or anything else you might compare people about. Example: Mateo really outstood at the competition tonight.
Etymology
Origin of outstand
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:
Bad press notices and the lack of any outstand ing talent other than Clark & McCullough put Here Goes the Bride into the past tense.
From Time Magazine Archive
Would the foundations of the house outstand it?
From Sir Gibbie by MacDonald, George
Stock held by Musk and select other insiders, which together account for over 63% of pre-IPO outstanding shares, is subject to a longer lockup.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
"I think this work is an outstanding example of a collaboration between a translational clinical researcher and a basic science physiologist," said MacDougald.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Recognition of their "outstanding universal value" brings international renown and commits authorities to work toward their preservation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
The group said its cloud business had an outstanding performance in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, India, South Korea and Spain, while Australia, Singapore and the U.S. also fared well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The paper printed grainy headshots of people looking distinguished—like they were already thinking about their next outstanding contribution to the life and culture of the town.
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
This was most unjust, for Cadet Wilson outstood in baseball and lacrosse as well as football.
From Time Magazine Archive
They have outstood centuries of raging storm and rending earthquake.
From The Splendid Idle Forties Stories of Old California by Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn
I have outstood my time; which is material To the tender of our present.
From Cymbeline by Shakespeare, William
The fig-tree here mentioned was blessed with the application of means, had time allowed it to receive the nourishment; but it outstood, withstood, overstood all, all that the husbandman did, all that the vine-dresser did.
From Works of John Bunyan — Volume 03 by Bunyan, John
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.
