Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Nine days in February that revealed how the most powerful technology in human history outran every institution built to contain it.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 13, 2026

Nike outran expectations in its latest quarterly report.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025

Enten noted that no party outran the polls three election cycles in a row nationally or in key battleground states since 1972.

From Salon • Oct. 30, 2024

“His ambition outran his ethics,” Mr. Koenig said.

From New York Times • Jun. 15, 2024

Instead of having fluctuating populations that periodically outran their resources and starved, they maintained smaller populations that enjoyed an abundance of food in good years and a sufficiency in bad years.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond