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Glite Dictionary
👕 To become too big 📏 To grow faster
to outgrow

to outgrow

4 3.6
Become bigger faster than someone or something else
  • verb
  • /aʊtˈɡroʊ/
translation icon : superar
  • Trey had proven Pap's dire predictions wrong in the past, especially since he had finally outgrown his brothers in length of leg and arm and hardness of muscle.
  • kids outgrow
  • outgrow their pots
  • outgrowing its water supply

Because if your achievements outgrow your sense of self, you will unconsciously engage in self-destructive behavior.

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Examples

  • Now, about half of them will outgrow the disease or will develop a milder form as they grow into adulthood.

  • The best of the best outgrow the chaos.

    Ryan Pineda

  • Bad enough your feet outgrow them in six months.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Anyway, he'll outgrow it real soon.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • With its population outgrowing its water supply, Pakistan too may soon turn to world markets for grain.

    Academic text (2008)

  • His legs had outgrown his torso.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Once you had your skis, the only real risk was of outgrowing your boots.

  • The plants had outgrown the flats; her dad had placed them in a grocery bag, which he'd left on her back porch.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The fabric gapped at the front buttons, straining where she had long since outgrown the dress.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • As he got older, he began to outgrow his childhood interests and look for new hobbies.

Synonyms

to outpace
vsto outgrow
20 4.9

To move, grow, or develop faster than another

is about growing faster rather than only moving or progressing quickly
to outstrip
vsto outgrow
7 6.8

To become faster, better, or larger than another

is specifically about growing faster rather than any general surpassing
to outrace
vsto outgrow
1 5.9

To get ahead of others in progress or achievement

means growing faster rather than overtaking others by achievement or progress

Antonyms

to shrink
181 2.8

Become less in amount or value

Phrasal Verbs

to outgrow one's fear
5.9

To stop being afraid of something as you get older

How Fast

to surpass
100 4.6
to outpace
20 4.9
to outgrow
4 3.6
to overtake
45 3.3

Surface Forms

outgrow infinitive
outgrowing present participle
outgrows third person singular
outgrew past
outgrown past participle

Morphology

outgrow = grow (transparent) = out + grow

The productive prefix 'out-' meaning 'beyond' or 'more than' combines with the verb 'grow' to mean 'grow beyond/beat in growth', a directly inferable meaning for learners.

Etymology

Outgrow comes from the simple parts out- (meaning 'beyond' or 'more than') and grow (meaning 'to become bigger'). So to outgrow someone or something is to grow 'beyond' them, for example to grow faster than a sibling or a younger tree.