outstrip
Americanverb (used with object)
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to outdo; surpass; excel.
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to outdo or pass in running or swift travel.
A car can outstrip the local train.
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to get ahead of or leave behind in a race or in any course of competition.
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to exceed.
a demand that outstrips the supply.
verb
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to surpass in a sphere of activity, competition, etc
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to be or grow greater than
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to go faster than and leave behind
Etymology
Origin of outstrip
Explanation
While outstrip might make you think about undressing, it really means outdoing. If the productivity of your garden outstrips your neighbor's, expect the neighborhood to come calling for fresh vegetables. If one thing outstrips another, it exceeds it or goes beyond it. When you outstrip someone during a race, you pass them. When one company’s profits outstrip another’s, they make more money. When the productivity of one nation outstrips the neighboring nation, they will have a bigger Gross National Product.
Vocabulary lists containing outstrip
Flowers for Algernon
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Grendel
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Sapiens
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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.
However, demand for memory is expected to outstrip supply until at least the middle of next year when substantial new manufacturing capacity will come online.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
Customers that are also using custom chips and AMD’s GPUs “can only get a fraction of what they want,” Moore said, as demand for AI chips continues to outstrip supply.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 2, 2026
Yet Villa have continued to outstrip expectation after making their worst start to a Premier League season in 28 years with just two points and no goals after four games.
From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026
L’Oreal is the market’s dominant player with annual sales that far outstrip U.S. rivals like Estee Lauder or Johnson & Johnson’s beauty division.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
They weren’t armed, but on the other hand they were flying easily within their power, and might even outstrip her if it came to a chase.
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
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.
