surpass
Americanverb (used with object)
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surpasses,
present (3rd person singular)
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surpassed,
past participle, past
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surpassing
present participle
verb
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to be greater than in degree, extent, etc
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to be superior to in achievement or excellence
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to overstep the limit or range of
the theory surpasses my comprehension
Synonym Usage
See excel.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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surpasssimple
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surpassessimple
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have surpassedperfect
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has surpassedperfect
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am surpassingprogressive
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are surpassingprogressive
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is surpassingprogressive
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have been surpassingperfect progressive
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has been surpassingperfect progressive
Past
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surpassedsimple
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had surpassedperfect
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was surpassingprogressive
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were surpassingprogressive
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had been surpassingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of surpass
First recorded in 1545–55; from Middle French surpasser; equivalent to sur- 1 + pass
Explanation
To surpass means to outdo someone or something, to go beyond what was expected. If you do better than you think you will, you will surpass your own expectations. Some words seem to exist just to give an extra oomph to your speech, and surpass is one of these. While you could just say passed or even outdid" saying surpass seems to indicate that a person (or some other thing that performs, like a company) has really gone beyond anything you anticipated. People tend to use this word a lot before the words expectations and predictions among others, because of course surpassing is all about "surpassing something."
Vocabulary lists containing surpass
Grade 9, List 2
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Trumps
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This Week In Words: March 29–April 4, 2020
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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:
They held that the highest and most noble aspiration in life was to surpass all others, to strive to be the best in all things.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
But streaming platforms now rival, and in some cases, surpass broadcast TV as a go-to form of entertainment, particularly among the younger viewers that the TV Academy hopes to engage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
It’s almost hard to fathom how any other individual could surpass his wealth, barring some company-specific problem.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Within days, it is expected to surpass the 1906 record drop of 15.35 metres.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
His alien kin have not only prepared him to pass but to surpass.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
While the total was down from the previous year’s record high of 95 entanglements, California still surpasses all other U.S. states in the number of cases.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
"It reminded me that we're capable of doing unbelievable things when how badly we want something matches and surpasses the difficulty of achieving it," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
All of this rests on assumptions that the current technology, built on so-called large-language models, will develop into artificial general intelligence, a hypothetical computer system that surpasses human intelligence in all domains.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
Hubinger said Anthropic is "trying its best", but does not yet have a plan to ensure an AI system that surpasses human capabilities would obey its creators.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
But it doesn't feel great when your younger sibling surpasses you.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
While the economic impact of AI has yet to fully emerge, Musk has already surpassed the richest Americans in history in terms of his relative share of gross domestic output.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
The projected figure surpassed Samsung’s previous record of about 89 trillion won set in the second quarter and largely met a FactSet-compiled consensus estimate for the third quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
It was an indication of the warm and tender feelings viewers still had for Helga and “Hey Arnold!” that Smith’s funding goal was surpassed in a matter of days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Middle East oil exports, excluding Iran, surpassed their pre-war levels last week despite attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to data from the maritime tracking firm Kpler.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Only in the mid-nineteenth century, after the growth of industrial cities and a rash of urban riots—after dread of the so-called dangerous classes surpassed dread of the state—did police departments emerge in the United States.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Some 189 have died so far this year, surpassing the toll for all of 2025.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Earlier, the yield had reached as high as 5.621%, surpassing a 2004 intraday peak to reach its highest level since June 2002.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Villa then turned the versatile forward into the most expensive Swiss player in history - surpassing Granit Xhaka's £38.25m move from Borussia Mönchengladbach to Arsenal 10 years ago.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
The app that people use to access the Muse AI agent topped Apple’s charts for free productivity apps, surpassing OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Burnham had all but given up hope of surpassing the Eiffel Tower.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
