Prefix · quantity / surpassing
Signals surpassing someone or something, or moving outward: outsell, outperform, outcome.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
Out- before a verb means doing that action better or in greater quantity than another person or thing: outsell = sell more than a competitor; outrun = run faster than someone; outlast = last longer than something else. The core idea is always "do X more than the other person or thing."
Out- also signals direction outward or a result that comes from a process: outdoors = outside the doors; output = what comes out of a process; outcome = what results from something. In these cases, out- implies direction or result rather than surpassing.
Attaches directly to verbs (surpassing) or nouns and adjectives (outward):
No spelling change to the root. Pronunciation: /aʊt/, rhymes with "about".
out-/aʊt/
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"Outstanding" can mean excellent (an outstanding result) OR unpaid/unresolved (an outstanding bill). Context determines which meaning applies.
"Outgo" and "outmake" are not standard. Out- of surpassing works with measurable action verbs: run, sell, grow, last, perform, smart.
A trick to remember it
For the surpassing sense, think "do more X than someone": outrun = run more, outsell = sell more, outlast = last longer. The pattern is always out- + measurable action verb + an implied comparison with another person or thing.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"The ___ of the experiment surprised even the lead scientists on the project."
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
What does "outstanding" mean in: "She has an outstanding loan of five thousand dollars"?
The prefix out- signals surpassing someone or something, or moving outward: outsell, outperform, outcome. In Spanish it usually maps to super- / más que.
The prefix out- is pronounced /aʊt/. For example, "outsell".
"sell" becomes "outsell". It is a typical example of the out- prefix.
un-, re-, pre-, dis-, over-, in-... every beginning you need to unlock thousands of English words at once.