surmount

[ ser-mount ]

/ sərˈmaʊnt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR surmount ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to mount upon; get on the top of; mount upon and cross over: to surmount a hill.

to get over or across (barriers, obstacles, etc.).

to prevail over: to surmount tremendous difficulties.

to be on top of or above: a statue surmounting a pillar.

to furnish with something placed on top or above: to surmount a tower with a spire.

Obsolete.

to surpass in excellence.
to exceed in amount.

RELATED WORDS

achievable, attainable, beatable

Nearby words

surinamese, surjection, surjective, surly, surmise, surmount, surmullet, surname, surpass, surpassing, surplice

Origin of surmount

1325–75; Middle English surmounten < Anglo-French surmounter, Middle French. See sur-¹, mount¹

Related forms

sur·mount·a·ble, adjectivesur·mount·a·ble·ness, nounsur·mount·er, nounun·sur·mount·a·ble, adjective

un·sur·mount·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for surmountable

Either one of these alone is surmountable for a skilled and ambitious politician.
Why I'd Rather be a Black Republican|Jamelle Bouie|February 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Listen, then, to the difficulties that beset us, and say if they are surmountable.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 379, May, 1847|Various
Rather on the north-west side, the hill is surmountable by a zig-zag path, up which a loaded mule can climb with some difficulty.
An Old Sailor's Yarns|Nathaniel Ames
In the mass they are appalling but singly they are surmountable.
A Daughter of the Middle Border|Hamlin Garland

Insurmountable, in-sur-mownt′a-bl, adj. not surmountable: that cannot be overcome.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)|Various
Once at least within historic memory the barrier of the Caucasus had proved to be surmountable.
The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 5. (of 7): Persia|George Rawlinson

British Dictionary definitions for surmountable

surmount

/ (sɜːˈmaʊnt) /

verb (tr)

to prevail over; overcometo surmount tremendous difficulties

to ascend and cross to the opposite side of

to lie on top of or rise above

to put something on top of or above

obsolete to surpass or exceed

Derived Formssurmountable, adjectivesurmountableness, nounsurmounter, noun

Word Origin for surmount

C14: from Old French surmonter, from sur- 1 + monter to mount 1

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