exceed
verb
Simple meaning
Be greater in scope or size than some standard.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihkseedSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪkˈsid
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Be greater in scope or size than some standard
“Their loyalty exceeds their national bonds.”
Be superior or better than some standard
transitive
To be larger, greater than (something).
transitive
To go beyond (some limit); to surpass; to be longer than.
intransitive
To predominate.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Be greater in scope or size than some standard
Used this way, exceed is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Their loyalty exceeds their national bonds.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- outgo , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use exceed
- “Their loyalty exceeds their national bonds.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
To a degree exceeding normal or proper limits.
The probability that an earthquake will generate a level of ground motion that exceeds a specified reference level during a given exposure time.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “exceed” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.