outrun

present singular third person outruns · participle present outrunning · past outran

1. transitiveTo run faster than.

   Can a tiger outrun a lion?

   2 more examples

   I don't need to outrun the bear; I just need to outrun you.

   Once it became obvious that Extra 3119 West was out of control, the VAN engineer took matters into his own hands. Hearing the engineer of Extra 3119 West repeatedly report his speed as being 80 mph, the VAN engineer believed the other train had reached maximum speed and that he could outrun it. Had he been instructed to do this earlier by the dispatcher, he might have succeeded in staying ahead of the runaway.

   1981 August 18, National Transportation Safety Board, “Role of Dispatcher”, in Railroad Accident Report: Rear-End Collision of Union Pacific Railroad Company Freight Trains Extra 3119 West and Extra 8044 West, Near Kelso, California, November 17, 1980, archived from the original on 29 Mar 2022, pages 30–31

2. transitiveTo exceed or overextend.

   They will take care not to outrun their income. They will never be distressed for money.

   1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC

   1 more example

   […] as I levelled my glance towards the taffrail, foreboding shivers ran over me. Reality outran apprehension; Captain Ahab stood upon his quarter-deck.

   1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 28, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC

plural outruns

1. hobbiesIn ski jumping, the flat or uphill area past the landing point, where the skier can slow down.
2. dogsThe sheepdog's initial run towards the sheep, done in a curving motion so as not to startle them.
3. ScotlandagricultureA piece of outlying grazing land on an arable farm.