surpass

English

Etymology

From French surpasser (“to pass beyond”); sur- +‎ pass.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /sɚˈpæs/, SAMPA: /s@`"p{s/
• Rhymes: -ɑːs

Verb

surpass (third-person singular simple present surpasses, present participle surpassing, simple past and past participle surpassed)

1. (transitive) To exceed, especially in a metaphoric or technical manner.

   The former problem student surpassed his instructor's expectations and scored top marks on his examination.

   The heavy rains threatened to surpass the capabilities of the levee, endangering the town on the other side.

Translations

to exceed

Arabic: فاق (ar) (faaqa) Chinese: Simplified: 超过 (chāoguò) Dutch: overstijgen (nl), overtreffen (nl) Finnish: ylittää (fi) French: surpasser (fr)

German: übersteigen (de), übertreffen (de) Latin: superō (la) Portuguese: ultrapassar (pt) Spanish: sobrepasar (es) Swedish: överskrida (sv)

See also

• exceed
• excel
• outdo
• outstrip

External links

• surpass in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• surpass in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• surpass at OneLook Dictionary Search