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world-beater

world-beater

1 6.9
A person or thing much better than others
  • noun
  • /ˈwɜrldˌbiːtər/
  • Informal
translation icon : ganador mundial
  • Ohio State was not and is not a world beater.

Examples

  • They're not world-beaters on that side of the ball or anything, but the Rebels rank sixth in the SEC in total offense and tenth in total defense.

    Blog text (15)
  • Let's face it: The Packers did not exactly play like world-beaters Thursday -- aside from Clay Matthews, who had 3.5 sacks on his own and proved unblockable all night, allowing Green Bay to rush just four and sit everyone else in pass coverage.

    Blog text (3)
  • If I have one good day, a good hour, even a single good sentence, I turn into a world-beater, the ice queen.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • The youngsters didn't come across as world-beaters, but they held their own.

    Blog text (14)
  • Adding Brandon Marshall was supposed to improve the offense from "middlingly mediocre" to "world-beater."

    Blog text (17)
  • However, like Oregon State, Villanova is far from a world-beater this year, and this is a very winnable game for Bama.

    Blog text (4)
  • These days, it seems all I ever read about in the papers are stories of meta-human thieves, terrorists, and world-beaters and all the havoc they wreak.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Is it so hard to imagine that if Redman and Dwyer can look like world beaters with this O-line group, that Mendenhall may rise to a completely different level?

    Blog text (25)
  • The athlete proved to be a real world-beater by winning the gold medal at the Olympics.

  • Her innovative ideas made her a world-beater in the technology industry.

Synonyms

powerhouse
vsworld-beater
57 4.5

A person, team, or organization that is very successful and able to influence others

emphasizes exceptional quality rather than broad power or influence
whiz
vsworld-beater
  • Informal
43 7.3

A person who is very skilled at something like math or computers

covers broad exceptional success beyond one skill or field
record-holder
vsworld-beater
12 3.2

A person or organization that officially has the best result in an event

is a general extreme success, not limited to official records
topper
vsworld-beater
  • Indian
7 6.7

A person who is best in a group or class

is extremely successful in general rather than only holding the highest position
dinger
vsworld-beater
  • Slang
5 8.6

A person or thing that is unusually good

is the more neutral term for being far better than others
gangbuster
vsworld-beater
  • Informal
2 6.7

A person or thing that is very successful and impressive

is similar but more neutral about how the success appears
top-notcher
vsworld-beater
  • Philippine
1 8.2

A person who is among the best in a field

is broader, meaning extreme success rather than specific high ranking
smasher
vsworld-beater
  • Archaic
1 6.5

A very big success, like a popular film

describes extreme success more generally rather than one standout event
triumphator
vsworld-beater
9.9

A person who wins a great victory in a contest

is wider, covering exceptional success beyond contest victories
megastar
vsworld-beater
3.8

A person or thing that is very famous and successful, often in entertainment

focuses on extreme success without stressing public fame
whizzer
vsworld-beater
  • Slang
7.3

Something very fast or impressive

focuses on being the best overall rather than speed or flashiness
supercow
vsworld-beater
  • Informal
8.2

A person who does a lot of work very well

is the general label for extreme success without informal tone

Antonyms

loser
  • Offensive
810 4.8

A person who often fails and who others look down on

11 4.6

A person, often a student, who gets lower grades than they could

How Successful

world-beater
  • Informal
1 6.9
champion
600 2.4
contender
152 3.5
average
1.0

Surface Forms

world-beater singular
world-beaters plural

Morphology

world-beater = world + beater (transparent) = world + beat + er

The compound 'world' + 'beater' straightforwardly conveys 'one who beats the world' (i.e., is unsurpassed), a meaning derivable by learners who know the parts.

Etymology

The word world-beater comes from putting together world and beat, where beat means 'to defeat'. Think of something that can 'beat' the whole world — that's why a world-beater is a person or thing that is extremely successful or much better than others.