surpass

[ser-pas, -pahs]

verb (used with object)

1. to go beyond in amount, extent, or degree; be greater than; exceed.

2. to go beyond in excellence or achievement; be superior to; excel.

   He surpassed his brother in sports.

   Synonyms: outstrip, beat

3. to be beyond the range or capacity of; transcend.

   misery that surpasses description.

surpass

/ sɜːˈpɑːs /

verb

1. to be greater than in degree, extent, etc

2. to be superior to in achievement or excellence

3. to overstep the limit or range of

   the theory surpasses my comprehension

Other Word Forms

• surpassable adjective
• surpasser noun
• unsurpassable adjective
• unsurpassed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of surpass¹

First recorded in 1545–55; from Middle French surpasser; equivalent to sur- ¹ + pass

Word History and Origins

Origin of surpass¹

C16: from French surpasser, from _sur- ¹ + passer to _pass

Synonym Study

See excel.

Example Sentences

In August, YouTube announced that Roblox-related videos had surpassed one trillion views.

Read more on Barron's

In India, Snapchat monthly users have surpassed 250 million, making up more than a quarter of its user base, according to numbers Snap released in July.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Nevertheless, outlays surpassed receipts, coming in at $689 billion, even though the government was shut for all of October.

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That evening’s performance marked the Mexican rock band’s 43rd arena show in the L.A. area, surpassing Bruce Springsteen’s record for most arena performances in the region.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Its US shares closed five percent higher on Monday after the company said the Qwen app had surpassed 10 million downloads within the first week of its beta launch.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• beat 
• eclipse 
• exceed 
• outpace 
• outperform 
• outstrip 
• outweigh 
• pass 
• rank 
• top