outcompete
English
Alternative forms
- out-compete
Etymology
out- + compete
Verb
outcompete (third-person singular simple present outcompetes, present participle outcompeting, simple past and past participle outcompeted)
- To be more successful than a competitor; especially to thrive in the presence of an organism that is competing for resources.
- 2020 November 7, Yuval Noah Harari, “At Home With Our Ancient Cousins, the Neanderthals”, in The New York Times, ISSN 0362-4331:
- While individual Neanderthals were perhaps as inquisitive, imaginative and creative as individual Sapiens, superior networking enabled Sapiens to swiftly outcompete Neanderthals.
- 2022 July 11, Helena Horton, “Oral contraceptives could help reduce grey squirrel numbers, research finds”, in The Guardian:
- Grey squirrels are an invasive species in the UK, introduced from North America in the 1870s. They pose a problem for wildlife including endangered red squirrels, which they outcompete.
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Coordinate terms
- overcompete
- undercompete
Translations
be much more successful than a competitor
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