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surmount

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.
sur·mount  (sr-mount)
tr.v. sur·mount·ed, sur·mount·ing, sur·mounts
1. To overcome (an obstacle, for example); conquer.
2. To ascend to the top of; climb.
3.
a. To place something above; top.
b. To be above or on top of: The church steeple surmounts the square.
4. Obsolete To surpass or exceed in amount.

[Middle English surmonten, from Old French surmonter : sur-, sur- + monter, to mount; see mount1.]

sur·mounta·ble adj.
sur·mounter n.

surmount
Verb
1. to overcome (a problem)
2. to be situated on top of (something): the island is surmounted by a huge black castle [Old French surmonter]
surmountable adj
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.surmount - get on top of; deal with successfully; "He overcame his shyness"
beat, beat out, vanquish, trounce, crush, shell - come out better in a competition, race, or conflict; "Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship"; "We beat the competition"; "Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game"
bulldog - throw a steer by seizing the horns and twisting the neck, as in a rodeo
2.surmount - be on top of; "The scarf surmounted the gown"
head - be in the front of or on top of; "The list was headed by the name of the president"
pinnacle - surmount with a pinnacle; "pinnacle a pediment"
3.surmount - reach the highest point of; "We scaled the Mont Blanc"
arrive at, reach, attain, gain, hit, make - reach a destination, either real or abstract; "We hit Detroit by noon"; "The water reached the doorstep"; "We barely made it to the finish line"; "I have to hit the MAC machine before the weekend starts"
4.surmount - be or do something to a greater degree; "her performance surpasses that of any other student I know"; "She outdoes all other athletes"; "This exceeds all my expectations"; "This car outperforms all others in its class"
beat, beat out, vanquish, trounce, crush, shell - come out better in a competition, race, or conflict; "Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship"; "We beat the competition"; "Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game"
outsmart, outwit, overreach, circumvent, outfox, beat - beat through cleverness and wit; "I beat the traffic"; "She outfoxed her competitors"
outgrow - grow faster than
outcry, outshout - shout louder than
outroar - roar louder than
outsail - sail faster or better than; "They outsailed the Roman fleet"
outdraw - draw a gun faster, or best someone in a gunfight
outsell - sell more than others; "This salesman outsells his colleagues"
outsell - be sold more often than other, similar products; "The new Toyota outsells the Honda by a wide margin"
outpace - surpass in speed; "Malthus believed that population increase would outpace increases in the means of subsistence"
better, break - surpass in excellence; "She bettered her own record"; "break a record"
outshine - attract more attention and praise than others; "This film outshone all the others in quality"
outrange - have a greater range than (another gun)
outweigh - be heavier than
outbrave - be braver than
out-herod - surpass someone in cruelty or evil
outfox - outdo someone in trickery
shame - surpass or beat by a wide margin
outmarch - march longer distances and for a longer time than; "This guy can outmarch anyone!"
outwear - last longer than others; "This material outwears all others"

surmount
verb overcome, master, conquer, pass, exceed, surpass, overpower, triumph over, vanquish, prevail over
Translations
Spanish surmount [səːˈmaunt] vtsuperar, vencer
French surmount [səːˈmaunt] vtsurmonter
German surmount [səːˈmaunt] vt (fig) → überwinden
Italian surmount [səːˈmaunt] vtsormontare

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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
It is probable that we shall end by giving it gigantic dimensions; but however great may be the difficulties in the way, our mechanical genius will readily surmount them.
He was impatient with himself because he had so petty a feeling, but three or four days' firmness, during which he would not go to the shop, did not help him to surmount it; and he came to the conclusion that it would be least trouble to see her.
"You see now," remarked Billings as we craned our necks to scan the summit thousands of feet above us, "how futile it would have been to waste our time in working out details of a plan to surmount those.
 
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