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to outnumber

to outnumber

127 3.7
To have more people or things than another group
  • verb
  • /aʊtˈnʌmbər/
translation icon : superar en número
  • Women outnumber men here five to one.
  • women outnumber men
  • men outnumber women
  • females outnumber males

And if they come across chimps from other troops and outnumber them, they will tear them into bits.

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Examples

  • Even now they outnumber us four to one.

  • Those puny little ants outnumber us a hundred to one.

  • And yet, men still outnumber women in Congress by a three to one ratio.

  • Now, in almost all the Canadian medical schools, women outnumber men in the first medical year.

  • And today, our friends vastly outnumber our enemies.

  • In fact, if you count the number of bacteria cells in your gut, you will find that they outnumber the number of cells in your body.

  • At the national level, females had been outnumbering males in high school since the late nineteenth century.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Our classroom observations showed that the male students, despite being vastly outnumbered by females, generally participated more.

    Academic text (2012)
  • Males outnumbered females in doctoral programs, but females outnumbered males in specialist and master's programs.

    Academic text (1994)
  • In this city, women outnumber men by a large margin, making it a unique place to live.

Synonyms

to outstrip
vsto outnumber
7 6.8

To become faster, better, or larger than another

is specifically about having a larger count rather than general superiority

How Many

to dominate
213 3.8
to outnumber
127 3.7
to exceed
255 4.1

Surface Forms

outnumber infinitive
outnumbered past participle
outnumbering present participle
outnumbers third person singular

Morphology

outnumber = number (transparent) = out + number

The prefix 'out-' meaning 'to exceed' combines with the verb 'number' in a regular, literal way to indicate being greater in number.

Etymology

The word outnumber comes from the prefix out- meaning 'more than' and the word number meaning 'count'. So, to outnumber someone is to 'count' more than them, or to be greater in number.