outshine

verb

out·​shine ˌau̇t-ˈshīn 

outshone ˌau̇t-ˈshōn 

 especially British  -ˈshän

or outshined; outshining

transitive verb

1

a

: to shine brighter than

b

: to excel in splendor or showiness

2

: outdo, surpass

outshone most of the other films in quality

—Kathleen Karr

intransitive verb

: to shine out

Synonyms

• beat
• better
• eclipse
• exceed
• excel
• outclass
• outdistance
• outdo
• outgun
• outmatch
• outstrip
• overtop
• surpass
• top
• tower (over)
• transcend

Examples of outshine in a Sentence

She outshines all the other actors in the film.

the trumpeter outshines all of his fellow band members

Recent Examples on the Web

And even though Sanders had home-field advantage, Hunter wasn’t afraid to outshine his coach, catching 10 bass to Sanders’ 3. —Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 20 Mar. 2025

There are a lot of VPN subscriptions out there, but NordVPN outshines most competitors, earning our Editors' Choice Award and Best of the Year pick for 2023. —Cierra Cowan, PCMAG, 20 Mar. 2025

Gaga and Bennett are fine, yet a spectacular tenor sax solo outshines them both. —Kristen S. Hé, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025

Will gold outshine Bitcoin in the long term - or the reverse? —Roger Huang, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1585, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Rhymes for outshine

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• byline
• canine

Kids Definition

outshine

verb

out·​shine (ˈ)au̇t-ˈshīn 

outshone -ˈshōn  ; outshining

1

: to shine brighter than

2

: excel, surpass