as in surpassing
to be greater, better, or stronger than
two vaccine developers who spent years vigorously trying to outdo one another's research
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Recent Examples of outdoing
Next came Unity—conceived, portentously, in the small Canadian town of Swastika—who, outdoing her sister, developed a girlhood crush on Hitler and moved to Germany to serve the Nazis.
—
Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Taylor Swift is taking a bow after outdoing everyone — including herself — on the Billboard charts with The Life of a Showgirl this week.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2025
The town has long been home to some of the world’s most remarkable ski resorts, each seemingly outdoing the last with grander lobbies, better views, and ever-more attentive service.
—Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Brands large and small spent much of the last 12 months outdoing each other in China, creating immersive experiences that tapped into local culture in a bid to woo aspirational customers, who have only just begun loosening their purse strings in what remains a difficult macro-economic environment.
—Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Taylor Swift is taking a bow after outdoing everyone — including herself — on the Billboard charts with The Life of a Showgirl this week.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2025
The town has long been home to some of the world’s most remarkable ski resorts, each seemingly outdoing the last with grander lobbies, better views, and ever-more attentive service.
—Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Brands large and small spent much of the last 12 months outdoing each other in China, creating immersive experiences that tapped into local culture in a bid to woo aspirational customers, who have only just begun loosening their purse strings in what remains a difficult macro-economic environment.
—Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outdoing
Verb
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The 43-point defeat was the worst in program history, surpassing a 31-point loss to Texas in 1984.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
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The country’s trade hit a record high last year, surpassing 3 trillion Malaysian ringgit ($780 billion).—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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States that automatically send every report to police are far exceeding federal requirements, experts said.—
Shoshana Walter,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
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Shares of networking equipment company Cisco have rallied about 18% since reporting its latest quarter in mid-November, greatly exceeding the S & P 500 gain of about 2% over the same time period.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But Vonn’s hopes of eclipsing her American teammate and pull off a miraculous gold medal victory came to a nasty halt.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
8 Feb. 2026
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The blue-chip index reclaimed 45,000 in August 2025 before eclipsing 46,000, 47,000 and 48,000 in quick succession across the following months.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Notable versions include those by Johnny Cash, John Denver, John Fogerty, and a 1976 chart-topping version by Lynn Anderson, as well as recent interpretations by Sturgill Simpson and Kelsey Waldon.—
Kirby Adams,
Louisville Courier Journal,
9 Feb. 2026
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The title is also riding high across South Asia, including chart-topping or near-the-top placement in markets such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, reinforcing the film’s regional pull beyond its home base.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Outdoing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outdoing. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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