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.
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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
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.
Memory chip demand is projected to outstrip supply until mid-2027, with 30-50% pricing gains expected in second quarter 2026.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
Applied Digital stock is up 13% so far this year after a strong 2025, soaring 221% to outstrip a 20% gain for the tech-heavy Nasdaq in the same span.
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
Both Sinner and Alcaraz continue to elevate their games in an attempt to outstrip the other, while the rest of the ATP Tour lags way behind.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
Gains in wholesale diesel prices already outstrip moves in Brent crude.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026
Hrothgar, who’d begun hardly stronger than the others, began to outstrip the rest.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
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.
