outstrip

/ˌaʊtˈstrɪp/

Say it: out-STRIP

1. verb To become greater or more successful than something or someone else.
In recent years, demand for electric vehicles has outstripped supply.
2. verb To move faster than and overtake someone or something.
The cheetah can easily outstrip any other land animal over short distances.

📖 Seen in the wild

The company's growth has consistently outstripped its competitors' in recent years.
collected by @vocablast

✏️ outstrip in a sentence

The company's revenue growth is outstripping its competitors by a wide margin.
Technological advancements often outstrip the laws designed to govern them.
His raw ambition sometimes seemed to outstrip his actual abilities.
Inflation has consistently outstripped wage increases, leaving many families feeling poorer.
She trained relentlessly, determined to outstrip her previous record.
By the third quarter, our production had far outstripped the initial projections.
The film's box office success quickly outstripped even the most optimistic forecasts.

🔁 Synonyms & antonyms

surpass exceed outpace eclipse overtake transcend best outdo

surpass · more general, often about exceeding a fixed standard rather than winning a race.

exceed · typically used for numbers, limits, or expectations.

outpace · very similar, but emphasizes speed or rate of progress specifically.

eclipse · implies overshadowing something so much that it seems insignificant.

Opposites: lag, trail, fall behind, underperform

🌱 Where it comes from

The word combines the prefix 'out', meaning 'to a greater degree', with the verb 'strip', which in the 16th century meant 'to move quickly'. So, to outstrip literally means to move more quickly than something else, a meaning that has been preserved alongside its more common figurative use for surpassing in quality or quantity.

🧩 How it's used

Common patterns:

outstrip demandoutstrip supplyoutstrip rivalsfar outstripgrowth outstrips

Outstrip is a strong, dynamic verb that works best when describing a competition or comparison. It implies that one party is not just ahead, but actively pulling away from another. While it can be used for literal races, it is most common in contexts like economics, business, and technology to describe growth or performance that exceeds a competitor, a previous record, or a related metric like supply or demand.

💬 Quick answers

What does outstrip mean?

Outstrip means to surpass or do better than something or someone else, often in a competitive context. It can also literally mean to run or move faster than and overtake another.

What is the difference between 'outstrip' and 'surpass'?

'Outstrip' often implies a dynamic race or a rate of growth where one thing is pulling ahead of another. 'Surpass' is more general and can refer to exceeding a static standard, quality, or expectation.

Is 'outstrip' a formal word?

It is a standard English word that is common in formal writing, journalism, and business contexts. It is not considered overly formal or stuffy for everyday use.

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