Outspeed

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To surpass another in terms of swift movement or rate of travel across a distance To accelerate beyond a competitor’s pace while in motion To gain speed beyond that of an object or individual in a race or event
2. To go at a greater speed than someone or something else while moving forward
3. To increase velocity beyond that of another entity during travel

Etymology: "Outspeed" is a plain formation: the prefix "out-" attached to "speed," and it has been built on a straightforward English pattern. Its earliest form appears in Middle English as "outspeden," which meant "to hurry out, hasten away, or succeed." That older sense carried the idea of getting ahead of others or getting away quickly, and the modern meaning of outrunning another moving thing grows naturally from it. The prefix does most of the work here. "Out-" in Middle English often marked surpassing or going beyond, as in "outrun" or "outdo," so "outspeden" combined that sense of exceeding with the notion of speed. Over time the sense narrowed from general hastening toward the specific idea of moving faster than something else.

Synonyms: outpace, outrun

Antonyms: lag, fall behind