Meaning & use
outranked
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“outranked” is a form of “outrank”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Past tense and past participle of outrank: to hold a higher position or grade in an organization than someone else.
Grammar: Takes an object: the captain outranked the lieutenant.
Patterns
- someone outranked someone
- be outranked by someone
The general outranked every other officer at the meeting.
She was outranked by two colleagues, so the decision was not hers.
The manager outranked him, so he did not argue.
verbtransitive
Past tense and past participle of outrank: to be considered more important or better than something else in a list or ranking.
Grammar: Takes an object; common for lists and scores: price outranked quality.
Patterns
- something outranks something
Cost outranked comfort when the family chose a hotel.
The small college outranked several famous universities in the teaching survey.
Safety concerns outranked every other issue on the agenda.
Word forms
| base form | outrank |
|---|---|
| third person singular | outranks |
| -ing form | outranking |
Common combinations
- outranked by a colleague
- He was outranked by a colleague with more years of service.
- easily outranked
- The visiting officer easily outranked the guards.
- be outranked in seniority
- She was outranked in seniority but not in experience.
- outranked every other
- That school outranked every other in the region.
Synonyms and how they differ
- outclassed
- Outclassed is about being clearly better in skill or quality, while outranked is about position or order in a ranking.
- overruled
- Overruled means a decision was cancelled by someone with authority, not simply that a person is higher in rank.
- surpassed
- Surpassed means gone beyond in achievement and suggests improvement over time, not an official position.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: outranked or outrun?
outranked vs outrun
Outrun means to run faster than someone, but outrank means to be higher in position.
Practice
The sergeant ____ the corporal, so the corporal had to follow his orders.
Choose one answer.
Outranked means held a higher position, which explains why the orders had to be followed. Outran is about speed, and overruled is about cancelling a decision.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “outranked”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.