Synonyms

excel

American

[ik-sel] / ɪkˈsɛl /

verb (used without object)

to surpass others or be superior in some respect or area; do extremely well.

to excel in math.

verb (used with object)

to surpass; be superior to; outdo.

He excels all other poets of his day.

Synonyms:

beat, top, exceed, transcend, eclipse, outstrip

excel British

/ ɪkˈsɛl /

verb

to be superior to (another or others); surpass
(intr; foll by in or at) to be outstandingly good or proficient

he excels at tennis

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

Excel, outdo, surpass imply being better than others or being superior in achievement. To excel is to be superior in some quality, attainment, or performance: to excel opponents at playing chess. To outdo is to make more successful effort than others: to outdo competitors in the high jump. To surpass is to go beyond others, especially in a contest as to quality or ability: to surpass one's classmates in knowledge of corporation law.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of excel

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French exceller, from Latin excellere, equivalent to ex- ex- ¹ + -cellere “to rise high, tower” (akin to celsus “high”)

Explanation

If you excel at math, you are doing it better than anyone else. You might even be moving so much faster than the rest of your class, you're put into a special, accelerated math program. Excel derives from the Latin excellere, which is all about going beyond the high. Someone who excels at the violin might practice five hours a day because they are striving for excellence, meaning outstanding-ness. You could describe their performance as excellent, or fantastic. That doesn't mean you yourself want to practice five hours a day. Excel means to stand out, and some of us are pretty happy standing right where we are.

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Vocabulary lists containing excel

Power Prefix: ex-

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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.

Cerebras’ unusually large artificial-intelligence chips excel at running models at speed, while also sidestepping some of the networking and packaging required for connecting thousands of high-end processors from Nvidia or other chip makers.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

Hans Moravec, a pioneering roboticist, observed in 1988 that computers excel at what humans find hard yet struggle with what we find naturally easy.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Rather than focusing only on maximizing status or income, Kajonius suggests people may benefit more from pursuing the things they naturally enjoy and excel at.

From Science Daily • May 6, 2026

But she continued to excel at school sport.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

They were responsible and hardworking, but it turns out they didn't excel in the long-term planning department.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023