Outgrowing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of developing beyond one's former size or stage
2. Surpassing a former size or limit through continued growth
3. Increasing in size or maturity to exceed prior boundaries

Etymology: "Outgrowing" is the present participle of "outgrow", so it is the ongoing form of a verb whose history is simply its two parts. The prefix comes from the Old English "ūt", meaning "out" or "outside", which passed through Middle English as "ut" before settling into its modern spelling. The base verb is "grow", and "outgrow" combines the two to mean to grow beyond something, whether a size, a stage, or a habit. The pattern is a productive one in English. Many verbs take "out-" to mean surpassing or exceeding, so "outrun", "outlive" and "outdo" follow the same logic, each adding the sense of getting ahead of something. Because the prefix carries that sense of going past a limit, "outgrowing" naturally describes a child's clothes no longer fitting, or a company that has become too large for its premises.

Synonyms: exceeding, surpassing, outstripping, growing beyond, maturing