Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

outstrip

[out-strip]
See more synonyms for outstrip on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), out·stripped, out·strip·ping.
  1. to outdo; surpass; excel.
  2. to outdo or pass in running or swift travel: A car can outstrip the local train.
  3. to get ahead of or leave behind in a race or in any course of competition.
  4. to exceed: a demand that outstrips the supply.
Show More

Origin of outstrip

First recorded in 1570–80; out- + strip1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

transcend, exceed, overtake, outdo, win, top, defeat, excel, pass, best

Examples from the Web for outstrip

Historical Examples

  • And it was as though he were endeavoring to outstrip the feelings which pursued him.

    The Twins of Suffering Creek

    Ridgwell Cullum

  • I believe she will outstrip Miriam before the end of the year.

  • Jeanne did not mean to outstrip them, but she was seized with enthusiasm.

    A Little Girl in Old Detroit

    Amanda Minnie Douglas

  • But rapid as their movements had been, they had failed to outstrip Edward.

  • It will have a constant tendency however to outstrip their wisdom.

    This Simian World

    Clarence Day

British Dictionary definitions for outstrip

outstrip

verb -strips, -stripping or -stripped (tr)
  1. to surpass in a sphere of activity, competition, etc
  2. to be or grow greater than
  3. to go faster than and leave behind
Show More
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

Word Origin and History for outstrip

v.

1570s, "to pass in running," from out + Middle English strip "move quickly," of unknown origin. Figurative sense of "to excel or surpass in anything" is from 1590s. Related: Outstripped; outstripping.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper