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Glite Dictionary
to outswim

to outswim

1 3.1
Swim faster than another person or animal
  • verb
  • /aʊtˈswɪm/
: superar nadando
  • He believes he can outswim any swimmer in our local pool.

They out paddled, outran and outswam all the other boat crews.

Examples

  • That is, until I outswim your little punk ass.

    Swimfan (2002)

  • And fight as you might, fight as you will, you can never outswim your destiny.

    Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023)

  • They out paddled, outran and outswam all the other boat crews.

    Mulligan Brothers Interviews

  • Last summer, I decided to challenge my friend to see who could outswim the other in the lake.

  • During the race, she trained hard, determined to outswim all her competitors.

Synonyms

to outstrip
vsto outswim
12 6.8

To become faster, better, or larger than another

narrows this to beating others specifically by distance or speed in water
to outmatch
vsto outswim
8 6.4

Do better than someone in skill or performance

applies only to beating others by moving faster or farther in water
to outrace
vsto outswim
2 4.2

To move or run faster than someone in a race

is used for the same action but specifically in water
to outdistance
vsto outswim
2 6.7

Get much farther ahead of other people in a race or competition

focuses on moving ahead in water rather than general races
to outgo
vsto outswim
1 8.1

To be better than another person or thing

is limited to outperforming others by speed or distance in water

How Much

to eclipse
35 6.0
to outpace
19 4.9
to outswim
1 3.1
to beat
∞ 1.4

Surface Forms

outswim infinitive
outswimming present participle
outswims third person singular
outswam past
outswam past participle

Morphology

outswim = swim (transparent) = out + swim

The productive prefix 'out-' meaning 'to surpass' combined with the verb 'swim' yields a meaning directly inferable by learners familiar with similar verbs (e.g., outrun, outfight).

Etymology

Outswim comes from the part out-, which means 'more than', plus the verb swim, so it literally means 'swim more than' someone else. The same out- is in words like outrun and outplay, so to outswim is to swim faster or farther than another person or animal.