outstrip
Americanverb (used with object)
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outstrips,
present (3rd person singular)
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outstripped,
past participle, past
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outstripping
present participle
-
to outdo; surpass; excel.
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
had outstrippedperfect
-
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
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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:
The new budget would still far outstrip the EU's last one, which was worth around 1.2 trillion euros.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
“Said simply, demand across AI infrastructure continues to outstrip available supply,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
Sandisk expects adjusted gross margins to remain at around 80% through 2030 as demand for memory continues to outstrip supply.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
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
That’s how it feels right now, he thinks, kneeling beside her, rinsing her hair: as though his love for his daughter will outstrip the limits of his body.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Demand already outstrips supply, fueling a data center build-out that is on track to become the largest economic bet in U.S. history, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
One in five pupils in Northern Ireland - more than 70,000 - have some form of SEN, and demand for school places outstrips capacity.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
The company has also been able to raise prices as demand for these chips outstrips supply.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Her compensation as stated in the latest available tax filings outstrips the pay for leaders of much larger nonprofits in the homelessness arena.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 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
With tourism directly contributing 13% of Spain's GDP, the industry has been a crucial component in the country's growth of recent years, which has outstripped that of France, Germany, Italy and the UK.
From BBC ● Jun. 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
Alarm mounted throughout the summer as researchers at leading AI labs found the pace of development far outstripping their expectations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
While more total spending is done with clubs outside of England, the proportion of big-money domestic deals is now outstripping overseas transfers.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The World Platinum Investment Council, an industry group, forecast in May that the platinum market would experience a fourth consecutive year of deficits in 2026, with demand outstripping supply.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
With demand growth outstripping new power supply, incumbent power plants could reap higher prices for their output without putting much capital at risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
