to excel at
20
3.4
- phrasal verb
- /ɪkˈsɛl æt/
:
sobresalir en
- She excels at mathematics, easily solving the most challenging problems.
- excel at sports
So I was the kid who really wanted to excel at math.
- So I was the kid who really wanted to excel at math.
- Like once you see what the actor is comfortable with and what they excel at and where some of their blind spots are, you can really start playing to their strengths.
- An intellectually brilliant person who excels at using his or her mental abilities for negative or harmful ends.
- So I think dyslexic, dyslexic people really excel at the things that things that they're that interest them.
- So all of the great successful things that I know are really good and we're going to really excel at, we're all me trying something new at some point.
- Try point Shara excels at capturing utterly diverse points of view with truthfulness and integrity.
Examples
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Oh, Miss March excels at drawing.
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So focus on what stirs your soul, because it's hard to excel at anything that you don't love.
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You must excel at that.
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Oh, I excel at it.
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Something that I would really excel at.
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Do you think men and women excel at different kinds of jobs?
Academic text (1992) -
Yes, I believe women tend to excel at it more naturally.
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This makes it impossible to cultivate social support outside of the relationship or to excel at a job or at school.
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And the top teams excel at structuring their decision making and staying motivated.
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She excelled at this work in Washington.
Synonyms
58
3.7
To be much better than other people at an activity or subject
1
3.5
To be very good at a particular activity
Antonyms
How Well
Surface Forms
Morphology
excel + at
The verb 'excel' already means to perform exceptionally well, and the preposition 'at' simply marks the domain or skill in which someone is good; the combined meaning is compositionally predictable. This verb+preposition pattern is common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would readily infer 'excel at' means 'be very good in/at' a particular area.
Etymology
The phrase excel at comes from a simple image: to excel is to stand out or rise above others, and at shows what you are good at. So, excel at means 'to be very good at' a subject or skill.