Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To overcome (an obstacle, for example); triumph over.
- transitive verb To ascend to the top of; climb.
- transitive verb To place something above; top.
- transitive verb To be above or on top of.
- transitive verb Obsolete To surpass or exceed in amount.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To mount or rise above; overtop; excel; surpass.
- To mount up on; pass over by mounting.
- To place something over or upon.
- To overcome; pass over, as difficulties or obstacles; get the better of.
- To rise up; hence, to surpass; exceed.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To rise above; to be higher than; to overtop.
- transitive verb To conquer; to overcome.
- transitive verb To surpass; to exceed.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb to
get over ; toovercome
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb be on top of
- verb get on top of; deal with successfully
- verb reach the highest point of
- verb be or do something to a greater degree
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The key difficulty Mr Brown needs to surmount is that Labour looks so dreadfully tired (as well as appallingly incompetent, but let’s leave that to one side).
What would a Lib Dem reshuffle bring? Stephen Tall 2007
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The key difficulty Mr Brown needs to surmount is that Labour looks so dreadfully tired (as well as appallingly incompetent, but let’s leave that to one side).
Archive 2007-05-01 Stephen Tall 2007
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The barrier OneNote aims to surmount is one created by Microsoft’s own success in establishing Word and Outlook, plus the overall Windows file system, as the dominant standards for writing, calendar keeping, and workplace communication.
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The barrier OneNote aims to surmount is one created by Microsoft’s own success in establishing Word and Outlook, plus the overall Windows file system, as the dominant standards for writing, calendar keeping, and workplace communication.
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The barrier OneNote aims to surmount is one created by Microsoft’s own success in establishing Word and Outlook, plus the overall Windows file system, as the dominant standards for writing, calendar keeping, and workplace communication.
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Of course we have "deep political and ideological divisions," but the failure of a committed left-wing ideologue to "surmount" them does not mean they are insurmountable, does not demonstrate that those divisions could not be surmounted by someone from either party truly determined to govern from closer to the center.
Discriminations 2010
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How will a growing common language allow humans to partake of life in a wider world, to surmount obstacles of global scope, and to find solace in continuities with the past?
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
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How will a growing common language allow humans to partake of life in a wider world, to surmount obstacles of global scope, and to find solace in continuities with the past?
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
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WASHINGTON—When President Barack Obama addresses the nation Tuesday, Americans won't see a lot of the candidate who promised to surmount the nation's political divisions.
State of the Union Speech To Feature Sharper Tone Laura Meckler 2012
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In a nutshell, Britain's experience suggests however loose the monetary policy, fiscal tightening is a hard headwind for an economy to surmount, especially when it's struggling out of a balance-sheet recession.
U.S. Debt Negotiators Should Look to Britain Alen Mattich 2011
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