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
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
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:
England have had many memorable games in the past six decades - but winning this match would outstrip them all and offer the chance for a historic triumph in Sunday's World Cup final against Spain.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 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
The organization said it expects oil supply growth to far outstrip demand growth next year if the peace deal holds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
When a company goes public in a highly anticipated listing, investor demand can outstrip the initial supply of shares.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
This drumming could not outstrip that of the heavens, which opened up upon us with tattoo of rain so furious that it seemed to bring on night.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
But one way stocks can slow is when new issuance overwhelms investors, as supply outstrips demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
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
So long as Nvidia continues to use all three suppliers and memory demand outstrips overall supply, Micron should resume its rally.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
I have imagined him afraid many times, but the reality outstrips those imaginings.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
As the pre-war avant-garde’s celebration of image-breaking, violent spectacle and weird hybridizing became muddy reality in the field, the amateurs outstripped the professionals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 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
This has actually outstripped the 8% gain chalked up by the index.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026
The "speed and severity of climate change in the South East particularly has outstripped reasonable predictions", he said.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
One reason was the increasing power and efficiency of the Berkeley cyclotron, which then outstripped those of every other cyclotron in existence.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
“We’re at a moment in time where the demands for the provision of financing are outstripping what we think is the appropriate quantum,” Solomon says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Compute-hungry data centres, which power AI, need more and more chips to keep up with demand from AI companies - which means the demand for them is far outstripping supply.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
The offering is yet another reflection that the artificial-intelligence ambitions of Big Tech companies are outstripping their substantial operating cash flows, forcing them to tap debt and equity markets.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 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
“Tech-nology was outstripping cognitive capacity,” Dr. Atchley explains.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
