outstrip
Americanverb (used with object)
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to outdo; surpass; excel.
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to outdo or pass in running or swift travel.
A car can outstrip the local train.
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to get ahead of or leave behind in a race or in any course of competition.
-
to exceed.
a demand that outstrips the supply.
verb
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to surpass in a sphere of activity, competition, etc
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to be or grow greater than
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to go faster than and leave behind
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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outstripsimple
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outstripssimple
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have outstrippedperfect
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has outstrippedperfect
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am outstrippingprogressive
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are outstrippingprogressive
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is outstrippingprogressive
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have been outstrippingperfect progressive
-
has been outstrippingperfect progressive
Past
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outstrippedsimple
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had outstrippedperfect
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was outstrippingprogressive
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were outstrippingprogressive
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had been outstrippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of outstrip
Explanation
While outstrip might make you think about undressing, it really means outdoing. If the productivity of your garden outstrips your neighbor's, expect the neighborhood to come calling for fresh vegetables. If one thing outstrips another, it exceeds it or goes beyond it. When you outstrip someone during a race, you pass them. When one company’s profits outstrip another’s, they make more money. When the productivity of one nation outstrips the neighboring nation, they will have a bigger Gross National Product.
Vocabulary lists containing outstrip
Flowers for Algernon
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Grendel
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Sapiens
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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:
Samsung's latest forecast, released on Tuesday ahead of its full results due later in July, comes as demand for semiconductors continues to outstrip supplies - which has pushed up prices.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
In a Wednesday note, Thill called overbuilding concerns “backward,” highlighting that demand for computing power continues to outstrip supply.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson told MarketWatch that investors may increasingly be worried about shifting fundamentals in the memory market and the prospect of supply coming to outstrip demand.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026
AI both requires and creates more data, and demand for Seagate’s storage solutions continues to outstrip supply.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
Hrothgar, who’d begun hardly stronger than the others, began to outstrip the rest.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
Population growth of 2% per annum in the U.S. far outstrips the 0.8% of the United Kingdom, while the U.S.’s real GDP is substantially higher at 3.6% versus 2.1%.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 3, 2026
"In my experience, Jannik the person outstrips Jannik the athlete. It is his simple manner, his sincerity, his openness and his direct connection with people."
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Now, analysts forecast a full-year operating profit of $77 billion, as demand for the company’s chips outstrips supply.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026
For now, he said, the potential reward still outstrips the risk of the tanker being seized.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
I have imagined him afraid many times, but the reality outstrips those imaginings.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Since 2000, price increases have outstripped underlying income.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
That outstripped the 52 percent who referenced TV news, 51 percent for newspaper apps or websites, and 21 percent for radio.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
The large donations from individuals meant Reform's fundraising efforts far outstripped those of both Labour and the Conservatives, who each declared around £4m in donations from private sources over the period.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Foreign orders outstripped domestic ones, though both posted growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
He believes that science is going to transform the world and that the moderns have outstripped the ancients in every possible respect.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Equally, though, his supporters would point to his personal appeal seemingly outstripping his party, connecting with parts of the region his party cannot reach.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Just after she graduated in 2016, her debt was £34,105 - but her latest balance statement shows it's now £41,908 because the interest accumulating is outstripping her repayments.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
Luna’s campaign spent about $515,000 from April 19 to May 16, far outstripping those of his challengers, records show.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
“The fact that oil inventories are still being drawn down shows that demand for oil is still outstripping supply,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Meanwhile, Woods told me, the city began outstripping its water supply, a “somewhat wimpy” tributary called Canteen Creek.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
