Synonyms

outrun

American

[out-ruhn] / ˌaʊtˈrʌn /

verb (used with object)

outran, outrun, outrunning

to run faster or farther than.
to escape by or as if by running.

They managed to outrun the police.
to exceed; excel; surpass.

outrun British

/ ˌaʊtˈrʌn /

verb

to run faster, farther, or better than
to escape from by or as if by running
to go beyond; exceed

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of outrun

First recorded in 1520–30; out + run

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Conflagrations abound—in one, a pair of rabbits anxiously scamper across a road to outrun the flames.

From The Wall Street Journal

Old Rowdy could usually outrun me, but it was all he could do to stay up with me.

From Literature

Trying to outrun any new pronouncements from the White House will be too complicated, Woldenberg said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Nine days in February that revealed how the most powerful technology in human history outran every institution built to contain it.

From MarketWatch

“By land, air or sea, our Armed Forces will find you and deliver justice. You will run out of fuel long before you will outrun us.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023