Excelling - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ex·cel

Audio Help [ik-sel] Pronunciation Key verb, -celled, -cel·ling.

–verb (used without object)

1.	to surpass others or be superior in some respect or area; do extremely well: to excel in math.

–verb (used with object)

2.	to surpass; be superior to; outdo: He excels all other poets of his day.

[Origin: 1400–50; late ME excellen < L excellere, equiv. to ex- ex-¹ + -cellere to rise high, tower (akin to celsus high)

]

—Synonyms 2. outstrip, eclipse, transcend, exceed, top, beat. 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, esp. in a contest as to quality or ability: to surpass one's classmates in knowledge of corporation law.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Excelling

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ex·cel Audio Help   (ĭk-sěl') Pronunciation Key
v.   ex·celled, ex·cel·ling, ex·cels

v.   tr.
To do or be better than; surpass.

v.   intr.
To show superiority; surpass others.

[Middle English excellen, from Latin excellere; see kel-² in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: These verbs mean to be or go beyond a limit or standard. To excel is to be preeminent (excels at figure skating) or to be at a level higher than another or others (excelled her father as a lawyer). To surpass another is to be superior in performance, quality, or degree: an athlete surpassed by none.
Exceed can refer to being superior (an invention that exceeds all others in ingenuity), to being greater than another (a salary exceeding 70 thousand dollars a year), and to going beyond a proper limit (exceed one's authority). Transcend often implies the attainment of a level so high that comparison is hardly possible: Great art transcends mere rules of composition.
To outdo is to excel in doing or performing: won't be outdone in generosity.
Outstrip strongly suggests leaving another behind, as in a contest: a case of the student outstripping the teacher.