Outstrip

Outstrip is a transitive verb meaning to surpass or exceed in performance, quantity, or speed, and to leave someone or something behind. It is used when something grows or advances more quickly than another thing, or when it outpaces rivals, expectations, or demand. The word can describe both people and nonhuman measures, and the related forms include outstrips, outstripped, and outstripping.

In usage, outstrip often appears in business, economics, technology, and sports writing. For example, a company may outstrip its sales forecasts, a city may outstrip population projections, or a runner may outstrip opponents in a race. It can be used with direct objects (outstrip the competition) or with predicates (demand outstrips supply).

Outstrip implies a higher rate of progress or achievement than a comparison standard and is typically more emphatic than synonyms like outpace or surpass in describing rapid advancement or growth. It is common in formal and journalistic prose, though care should be taken to ensure the subject can reasonably be said to exceed the referenced benchmark.

See also: outrun, outpace, surpass, exceed. These terms are closely related and may be chosen to reflect nuances of speed, degree, or context.