surpass
UK /səˈpɑːs/ · US /sɚˈpæs/ verb
Forms surpasses surpassing surpassed
- verb (transitive) To go beyond or exceed (something) in an adjudicative or literal sense. “The former problem student surpassed his instructor's expectations and scored top marks on his examination.”
Synonyms
exceed forpass transcend excel outdo outstrip stand out outmatch outgo surmount outperform travel by pass by go past go by pass
Etymology
From Middle French surpasser (“to pass beyond”). By surface analysis, sur- + pass. Displaced native Old English oferstīgan (literally “to climb over”).
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [F. surpasser; sur over + passer to pass. See Sur- , and Pass.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “surpass”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details