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Glite Dictionary
to outstay

to outstay

3 5.5
To stay somewhere longer than you are welcome
  • verb
  • /aʊtˈsteɪ/
translation icon : quedarse más tiempo
  • At less than 75 minutes long, the film is short enough not to outstay its welcome.
  • outstay my welcome

Examples

Synonyms

to overstay
vsto outstay
19 4.5

To stay longer than expected or allowed

means staying longer than others want or than is needed
to tarry
vsto outstay
  • Literature
7 7.5

To stay in a place longer than expected

is a more neutral or old fashioned way to say staying too long
to linger too long
vsto outstay
2 4.6

Stay somewhere longer than is safe or needed

describes staying longer because others do not want it or need it
to wear out one's welcome
vsto outstay
  • Informal
1 7.0

Stay too long and make people feel annoyed

focuses on staying too long without necessarily causing irritation

Antonyms

to leave early
66 1.0

Go away from a place before the usual or expected time

How Long

to overstay
19 4.5
to outstay
3 5.5
to linger
207 3.7
to remain
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

outstay infinitive
outstayed past
outstayed past participle
outstaying present participle
outstays third person singular

Morphology

outstay = stay (transparent) = out + stay + out

The meaning is a straightforward productive use of the prefix 'out-' ('longer/more than') with the verb 'stay', so learners can infer 'stay longer than'.

Etymology

Outstay comes from out- ('beyond' or 'more than') and stay ('remain'), like outlast or outlive, which mean 'last longer than'. So to outstay your welcome is to remain longer than people want or longer than others, which is why it means to stay too long.