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excels

 - 3 dictionary results

ex⋅cel

  [ik-sel] 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.
Use excels in a Sentence
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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To excels
ex·cel   (ĭk-sěl')   
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

excel 
c.1408, from L. excellere "to rise, surpass, be eminent," from ex- "out from" + -cellere "rise high, tower," related to celsus "high, lofty, great," from PIE base *kel-/*kol- "to rise, be elevated" (see hill).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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