Outvoting

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Gaining more votes than an opponent in a contest or decision-making process
2. Achieving victory by securing a larger number of votes than others
3. Winning a vote or election by surpassing the total votes of competitors

Etymology: The verb "outvote" is simply "out-" attached to "vote," and "out" is one of the oldest words in English. It descends from a Proto-Germanic form "ūt," which also gave German "aus" and carried the sense of being outside or beyond. In Old English it appeared as "ūt," and it kept that meaning of surpassing or exceeding through the centuries, which is why it can be attached to so many verbs to mean doing something better or more than someone else. The second half, "vote," has a more formal pedigree. It comes from Latin "vōtum," meaning a vow or solemn wish, a promise made to a god. Over time, the sense of expressing a wish moved toward expressing a choice, so a vote came to mean a formal expression of preference. Outvoting, then, is literally voting beyond or past another party, prevailing in a choice made by counting.

Synonyms: defeating, overruling, outnumbering, dismissing, rejecting

Antonyms: electing, selecting, choosing, appointing, endorsing