surmount
UK /səˈmaʊnt/ · US /sɚˈmaʊnt/ verb
Forms surmounts surmounting surmounted
- verb (transitive) To get or be over without touching or resting on; to overcome.
- verb (transitive) To cap; to sit on top of.
Synonyms
overcome get over subdue master scale surpass outstrip outmatch outgo exceed outdo outperform
Etymology
From Middle English surmounten, from Old French surmonter (“to rise above, surmount”), from sur- (“above”) + monter (“to mount”), equivalent to sur- + mount.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To rise above; to be higher than; to overtop.
- verb To conquer; to overcome; as, to surmount difficulties or obstacles. Macaulay.
Etymology [OE. sourmounten, OF. surmonter, sormonter, F. surmonter; sur over + monter to mount. See Sur-, and Mount, v. i.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “surmount”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details