as in defeating
to achieve a victory over
at last she's bested her card-playing mother at the game of hearts
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Recent Examples of besting
This was a record turnaround among SpaceX launches from Space Coast launch pads at 2 hours and 54 minutes besting October’s double launch that saw a Falcon 9 launch at CCSFS just eight hours, 42 minutes after a Falcon Heavy launch at KSC.
—
Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2026
Sure enough, the project landed at Number One with more than 150,000 album-equivalent units moved in its opening week, besting the Weeknd’s Dawn FM by a modest 2,300 units.
—Kyle Eustice, VIBE.com, 30 Mar. 2026
Rincan won his first four matches, besting Jayden Espinoza of Arizona, Marquavious Lane of Georgia, Robby Newton of Rhode Island and Jared Goodwon of Virginia.
—Barry Scanlon, Boston Herald, 29 Mar. 2026
While its regular season wasn't amazing, Kansas is loaded with talent as usual — and Pitino thinks the Jayhawks could be one of the few teams capable of besting the Johnnies' power and strength in the post.
—ABC News, 21 Mar. 2026
Phoenix soared to 102 degrees on Tuesday, easily besting its previous March record of 100 degrees.
—Chris Dolce, CNN Money, 20 Mar. 2026
Woodland Hills’ temperature peaked at 100, besting a temperature of 92 degrees in 1997.
—City News Service, Daily News, 19 Mar. 2026
Bugatti set the production car top speed record in 2010 with a 267 mph run in a Veyron Super Sport, besting an effort five years earlier that saw a Veyron go 253 mph.
—Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 13 Mar. 2026
The award-winning Pasquale’s Pizzeria Napoletana of South Kingstown also garnered a huge vote in besting West Warwick’s Cowesset Pizza.
—Gail Ciampa, The Providence Journal, 5 Mar. 2026
Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2026
Sure enough, the project landed at Number One with more than 150,000 album-equivalent units moved in its opening week, besting the Weeknd’s Dawn FM by a modest 2,300 units.
—Kyle Eustice, VIBE.com, 30 Mar. 2026
Rincan won his first four matches, besting Jayden Espinoza of Arizona, Marquavious Lane of Georgia, Robby Newton of Rhode Island and Jared Goodwon of Virginia.
—Barry Scanlon, Boston Herald, 29 Mar. 2026
While its regular season wasn't amazing, Kansas is loaded with talent as usual — and Pitino thinks the Jayhawks could be one of the few teams capable of besting the Johnnies' power and strength in the post.
—ABC News, 21 Mar. 2026
Phoenix soared to 102 degrees on Tuesday, easily besting its previous March record of 100 degrees.
—Chris Dolce, CNN Money, 20 Mar. 2026
Woodland Hills’ temperature peaked at 100, besting a temperature of 92 degrees in 1997.
—City News Service, Daily News, 19 Mar. 2026
Bugatti set the production car top speed record in 2010 with a 267 mph run in a Veyron Super Sport, besting an effort five years earlier that saw a Veyron go 253 mph.
—Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 13 Mar. 2026
The award-winning Pasquale’s Pizzeria Napoletana of South Kingstown also garnered a huge vote in besting West Warwick’s Cowesset Pizza.
—Gail Ciampa, The Providence Journal, 5 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besting
Verb
-
Austin Hays also hit a three-run home run for the Sox, who collected their first win of the season by defeating the Miami Marlins 9-4 in front of 6,515 at loanDepot park.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
-
New York looked terrific, allowing just a single run over three games, defeating the Giants 7-0, 3-0, and 3-1.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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That would involve changing some state laws, persuading housing lenders to be more accommodating and overcoming resistance from construction unions.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
There is power in prevention, which makes overcoming these obstacles crucial.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
For years, women in Israel committed themselves to rigorous Torah scholarship, mastering complex halachic material and serving their communities as teachers and spiritual leaders, yet were barred from even attempting the state rabbinate exams.—
Rabba Sara Hurwitz,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
-
After mastering waterbending in Season 1, Aang will turn to earthbending in Season 2, while evading the evil Fire Nation and Prince Zuko.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
After beating Atlanta last Friday without Jaylen Brown and Charlotte on Sunday without Brown and Derrick White, Boston flopped in a rematch with the Hawks, losing 112-102 without a crew of contributors headlined by a resting Jayson Tatum.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
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Lawson’s Blue Devils relished their March Madness at the downtown arena on Friday night, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the corner by Ashlon Jackson to stun storied LSU in a Sweet 16 contest.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Cameron House is dreamy, in part for its location and breath-taking views and in part for its blend of baronial grandeur and modern luxury.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Fort Worth Southwest Christian senior Lara Langford, a UMass-Boston signee, hurled four innings striking out four and giving up five runs in taking the loss.—
Mike Waters,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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After conquering the internet underground, perhaps Yeat believes that stadium status is all that’s left.—
Mosi Reeves,
Rolling Stone,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Instilling any notion of a more general intelligence in a machine will be a far more challenging problem than conquering even Go.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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While disagreement remains over its necessity, Porter County E911 will begin dispatching police calls for the towns of Chesterton and Porter Wednesday amid improved relations between the towns and county.—
Shelley Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
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The 21-year-old British southpaw had been dispatching opponents early — none of his previous nine opponents had made it through two rounds.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Besting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besting. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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