outclass

O1U1T1C3L1A1S1S1
/aʊtˈklæs//aʊtˈklɑːs/

verb

to surpass something or somebody else, so as to appear to be in a higher class

“In the IQ test, he outclassed all the other applicants.”

RareScrabble 10

Meanings

verboutclass (third-person singular simple present outclasses, present participle outclassing, simple past and past participle outclassed)

present singular third person outclasses · participle present outclassing · participle past outclassed · past outclassed

  1. transitiveto surpass something or somebody else, so as to appear to be in a higher class

    In the IQ test, he outclassed all the other applicants.

    2 more examples

    The 7th and 8th classes are identical with the Cape engines placed in service at the turn of the century, and are now outclassed for main line work but are used for shunting at the large depots and on one or two of the branch lines.

    1940 December, O. S. M. Raw, “The Rhodesia Railways—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 639

    The openly ridiculous plot has The Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) scheming to win the Pirate Of The Year competition, even though he’s a terrible pirate, far outclassed by rivals voiced by Jeremy Piven and Salma Hayek.

    2012 April 26, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 05 Jan 2013

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úd
  2. Proto-Germanic*ūt
  3. Proto-Germanic*ūt-
  4. Old Englishūt-
  5. Middle Englishut-
  6. Englishout-
  7. Englishclass
  8. Englishoutclass

From out- + class.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian надминавам, превъзхождам
  • надминавам (nadminavam)To surpass something
  • превъзхождам (prevăzhoždam)To surpass something
French surclasser
  • surclasserTo surpass something
German deklassieren
  • deklassierenTo surpass something
Italian surclassare
  • surclassareTo surpass something
Norwegian utklasse
  • utklasseTo surpass something
Spanish superar
  • superarTo surpass something

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with outclass

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

outclass. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outclass

MLA

“outclass.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outclass. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “outclass,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outclass.

Source: outclass on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.