Meanings
present singular third person outclasses · participle present outclassing · participle past outclassed · past outclassed
- 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 639The 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
- Proto-Indo-European*úd
- Proto-Germanic*ūt
- Proto-Germanic*ūt-
- Old Englishūt-
- Middle Englishut-
- Englishout-
- Englishclass
- Englishoutclass
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
Cite this entry
outclass. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outclass
“outclass.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outclass. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “outclass,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/outclass.
Source: outclass on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.