Outstanding
adj, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 present participle and gerund of outstand form-of, gerund, participle, present
- 1 Prominent or noticeable; sovereign.
- 2 Exceptionally good; distinguished from others by its superiority.
"Charles S. Peirce, 1839 to 1914, was one of America's most outstanding intellects. Philosopher, mathematician, and scientist, he wrote profusely, the equivalent of almost 100,000 printed pages in all."
- 3 Projecting outwards.
"At a distance of about seven or eight miles to the northeastward of the landing, there is an outstanding group of mountains crowning a spur from the main chain of the Coast Range, whose highest point rises about eight thousand feet above the level of the sea;..."
- 4 Unresolved; not settled or finished.
"I have several outstanding tasks on my to-do list."
- 5 Owed as a debt.
"You must pay any outstanding corporate card balance immediately."
- 1 having a quality that thrusts itself into attention wordnet
- 2 of major significance or importance wordnet
- 3 owed as a debt wordnet
- 4 distinguished from others in excellence wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Because of Linda's outstanding grades last semester, I have arranged for her to visit Europe."
Etymology
From outstand, equivalent to out- + standing or outstand + -ing.
Related phrases
More for "outstanding"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.