outstrip

[ out-strip ]

verb (used with object)

, out·stripped, out·strip·ping.

1. to outdo; surpass; excel.
2. to outdo or pass in running or swift travel:

   A car can outstrip the local train.

3. to get ahead of or leave behind in a race or in any course of competition.
4. to exceed:

   a demand that outstrips the supply.

outstrip

/ ˌaʊtˈstrɪp /

verb

1. to surpass in a sphere of activity, competition, etc
2. to be or grow greater than
3. to go faster than and leave behind

Word History and Origins

Origin of outstrip¹

First recorded in 1570–80; out- + strip ¹

Example Sentences

Organisers said the funds were needed after maintenance and staffing costs had begun to outstrip budgets, and to replenish reserves that had run dry.

From BBC

Streeting said he was expecting "demand" for new weight-loss drugs to outstrip NHS supplies.

From BBC

Rowling’s “Harry Potter”—they far outstrip their peers in sales.

From Slate

“Income growth has continued to outstrip house price growth in recent months while borrowing costs have edged lower amid expectations that the Bank of England will continue to lower interest rates in the coming quarters,” said Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardner.

From BBC

Aging infrastructure, short-term thinking, and ambitions that far outstrip its funding are just a few of the problems threatening the future of America’s vaunted civil space agency, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• exceed
• outdo
• overtake
• transcend