Prefix · quantity / surpassing
Signals surpassing someone or something, or moving outward: outsell, outperform, outcome.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
With a verb, out- means doing that action better or in greater amount than another person or thing. The central idea is always "doing X more than the other". It is a very useful prefix for talking about competition and performance.
Out- has a second sense, going toward the outside, and it is used in words that talk about what comes out or what results from something. In these cases there is no surpassing: only direction or result. To know which one it is, look at the base word: if it is a verb, it is almost always "surpass"; if it is a noun, it is almost always "outward".
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.
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.