surmount
Americanverb (used with object)
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to mount upon; get on the top of; mount upon and cross over.
to surmount a hill.
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to get over or across (barriers, obstacles, etc.).
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to prevail over.
to surmount tremendous difficulties.
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to be on top of or above.
a statue surmounting a pillar.
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to furnish with something placed on top or above.
to surmount a tower with a spire.
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Obsolete.
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to surpass in excellence.
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to exceed in amount.
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verb
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to prevail over; overcome
to surmount tremendous difficulties
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to ascend and cross to the opposite side of
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to lie on top of or rise above
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to put something on top of or above
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obsolete to surpass or exceed
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
surmountsimple
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surmountssimple
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have surmountedperfect
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has surmountedperfect
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am surmountingprogressive
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are surmountingprogressive
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is surmountingprogressive
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have been surmountingperfect progressive
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has been surmountingperfect progressive
Past
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surmountedsimple
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had surmountedperfect
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was surmountingprogressive
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were surmountingprogressive
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had been surmountingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of surmount
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Anglo-French sormonter, surmounter, Old French sor(e)monter, s(o)urmonter; see sur- 1, mount 1
Explanation
If you surmount a challenge or difficult situation, you're not just getting over it. You're outdoing yourself, exceeding expectations, and overcoming the task at hand. This word comes to us from the Old French verb for mount, or climb. Maria sang "climb every mountain..." in The Sound of Music. But she could have just as well meant "surmount every obstacle" — because to surmount means to both reach the highest point of something, like a mountain, and to totally overcome a mountain-size problem.
Vocabulary lists containing surmount
"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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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:
Sometimes, even the best-laid plans can’t surmount a brick wall.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 23, 2026
When Franklin Roosevelt signed the law creating the Federal Housing Administration in 1934, the country’s political class, or most of it, assumed the government could surmount any problem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
Neither actor really tries to surmount their 20-year age gap.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025
That’s precisely why I forced myself to surmount my anxiety on the second day of Lollapalooza when we were slated to see the Chilis.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2024
And yet it’s good that we have to surmount them, since it makes the end that much more beautiful.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
The line surmounts central Tacoma’s steep slope by climbing north of downtown, followed by a U-turn into Martin Luther King, Jr. Way South.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 22, 2023
Each arrives at a version of freedom that surmounts the original constraints.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 17, 2021
But when the Red Woman reminds her that she’s been training very nearly her whole life for this, she surmounts her fear.
From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2019
Name-recognition, either through the media or word-of-mouth within cadres of art collectors, surmounts all.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2017
The dogs fall silent at the edge of my spell, and where the king’s hall surmounts the town, the blind old Shaper, harp clutched tight to his fragile chest, stares futilely down, straight at me.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
Stocks have also surmounted another potential threat: The revival of the conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
In the 1970s, the bipartisan effort to remove President Richard Nixon from office signified to many that the constitutional crisis he created had been surmounted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
These are issues that could potentially be surmounted through negotiation.
From BBC ● May 7, 2024
The researchers have now surmounted this security vulnerability by leveraging terahertz waves to develop an antitampering ID tag that still offers the benefits of being tiny, cheap, and secure.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 19, 2024
In fact, I was for some time of the opinion that this huge challenge ahead of us could not be surmounted without my bringing in additional staff from outside.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Pianists have to stay on the job, maintaining composure and surmounting anxieties, so that their work acquires the necessary finish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
The band discusses their challenges without being deterred or overwhelmed by their situation, enduring and surmounting life's trials and tribulations with unapologetic grace and determination.
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2024
The paper also provides examples of how people are surmounting some of these obstacles.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 16, 2023
It’s associated with pleasure and the expectation or experience of a reward, which can include the surmounting of a threat “such as overcoming fear, winning a race, receiving respect and approbation from others,” Spiegel says.
From National Geographic ● Oct. 16, 2023
When they were able to arrange a meeting, surmounting all of Blanca’s usual obstacles in addition to the new ones imposed by Pedro’s job, they would find themselves more full of anguish than desire.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
