Outrivals

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Surpasses others in skill, quality, or performance
2. Excels beyond someone else in accomplishment or capability
3. Is better than another in achievement, skill, or strength

Etymology: "Outrivals" is the third-person singular present form of "outrival," a verb meaning to surpass a competitor in accomplishment or ability. The verb is built from the prefix "out-," meaning beyond or exceeding, attached to "rival." The prefix is an old English element that could make a verb mean "to do something better than" or "to go further than," so "outrival" adds the sense of getting ahead of someone in a contest. "Rival" itself comes from Latin "rivalis," which described people who shared a stream, "rivus." Neighbours who drew water from the same brook were natural competitors for its use, and that shared-water origin is what gave the word its sense of contending parties. The English "outrival" follows the same pattern, so a person who outrivals another has beaten them at the very thing they were competing over.

Synonyms: outperform, surpass

Antonyms: fall behind