Outdrank

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have consumed more alcoholic beverages than another; to surpass someone in the amount of drinks ingested; to exceed in the act of drinking, especially in a competitive context
2. To exceed another person in the quantity of alcohol consumed; to outdo someone in drinking behavior; to outperform in the challenge of drinking alcohol
3. To engage in drinking more than another individual; to surpass in alcoholic consumption during a social event; to win a drinking contest by consuming greater amounts

Etymology: "Outdrank" is the simple past of "outdrink," so its history is that of the verb it belongs to. "Outdrink" comes from Middle English "outdrinken," meaning "to drink more than," and it was built by attaching the prefix "out-" to the ordinary verb "drink." The pattern is an old and productive one in English: "out-" added to a verb produces a new verb meaning to surpass someone in that action, as with "outrun," "outwork," or "outsing." The base verb "drink" is ancient and native to English, descending from Old English "drincan," so the new verb inherits its core meaning directly. The prefix supplies the competitive sense: the drinker is not simply consuming, but consuming more than a rival. That contest-based meaning explains why the word is so often used in a social, head-to-head setting.