- present participle of surpass.
surpassing
Americanadjective
adverb
adjective
adverb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of surpassing
Explanation
Something that's surpassing is exceptional or outstanding — much better or more than usual. A scene of surpassing hilarity in a movie might make you laugh until tears run down your face. The adjective surpassing is a bit old fashioned, and you're most likely to read it in a novel or poem. Its most common use is in the phrase "surpassing beauty," or exceptional beauty. A poet might reflect on the surpassing beauty of the sunset over the ocean, for example. To surpass is to "go beyond," from the prefix sur-, "beyond," and the Old French verb passer, "to go by."
Vocabulary lists containing surpassing
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.
The IPO is easily the largest on record, surpassing the 2019 offering by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant, which raised $29.4 billion.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
SpaceX futures trading at $176 on Hyperliquid suggest a $2.3 trillion valuation, potentially surpassing Tesla’s $1.8 trillion.
From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026
The database giant’s fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose 21% year over year to $19.18 billion, surpassing the $19.10 billion FactSet consensus estimate.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026
Well into the 2020s, the Sunday-night show has retained millions of loyal viewers, even surpassing some of the ratings records it had set in previous decades.
From Slate • Jun. 5, 2026
The foundation was by all measures a complete success, with the city surpassing Athens in size relatively early in her history.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
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.
