outstand

English

Etymology

From Middle English outstanden, utstanden, equivalent to out- +‎ stand. Cognate with Saterland Frisian uutstounde (“to bear, tolerate”), Dutch uitstaan (“to abide, suffer, dree”), German ausstehen (“to stand, endure, abide”), Swedish utstå (“to suffer, endure, pass through”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ænd

Verb

outstand (third-person singular simple present outstands, present participle outstanding, simple past and past participle outstood)

1. (transitive, archaic) To resist effectually; withstand; sustain without yielding.
   • 1658, John Spencer, Thomas Fuller, “CCCXXVI.—A sinful man is a senseless man.”, in ΚΑΙΝΑ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΛΑΙΑ[:] Things New and Old; or A Storehouse of Similes, Sentences, Allegories, Apophthegms, Apologues, Adages, Divine, Moral, Political, &c., […] , page 84:

     Like Solomon's fool, he outstands all reproof.

   • 1861 January, Samuel Joseph Mackie, “The Evidences of the Geological Age and Human Manufacture of the Fossil Flint Implements”, in Samuel Joseph Mackie, editor, The Geologist:

     [T]he Elephas primigenius [woolly mammoth] and some of its associates which were able to outstand the inclemency of that severe period, wandered back over their ancient territory, […]

2. (transitive) To surpass in standing; stand or remain beyond; outstay.
   • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene vi]:

     I have outstood my time, which is material / To the tender of our present.

   • 1841 December, J. M. H., “Doctrinal Views Often Determined by Moral Condition”, in The Christian Observer, London: J. Hatchard and Son:

     This difficulty […] does not arise from, nor is it peculiar to, revealed religion. It is a difficulty which outstands all systems; […]

3. (intransitive) To project outward from the main body; stand out prominently; be prominent.
   • 1971 August 17, Charles L. Welton, “Releasable Mooring Rope”, in Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, volume 889, number 3:

     A lever connected to the cam outstands from the throat block, […]

   • 2015, Adrian Sanqui, “Purple Fluorescent Frog”, in Drawing Frogs[:] How to Draw Frogs for the Beginner (Learn to Draw), volume 2, →ISBN, page 20:

     The frog simply outstands from its surroundings due to its dark purplish vibrant color.

4. (intransitive, nautical, archaic) To stand out to sea.
5. (intransitive, archaic) To remain over; remain untouched, unimpaired, unsettled, uncollected, unpaid, or otherwise undetermined.
   • 1883, Thomas J. Knight, “Testimony of Thomas J. Knight”, in Appendix to the Journals of the Senate and Assembly of the Twenty-Fifth Session of the Legislature of the State of California, volume III, page 77:

     The Judge gave a judgment against the whole boat's crew, I being one of the men, for $30,000. Of course, we did not feel like paying it. I did not; it was none of my fault, but I happened to belong to the same boat, and it outstands there now.

Synonyms

• (to be prominent): See also Thesaurus:stand out

Derived terms

• outstander
• outstanding
• outstanding term

References

• “outstand”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• stand out, stand-out, standout