Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Definition: Surmount |
SurmountVerb1. Get on top of; deal with successfully; "He overcame his shyness". 2. Be on top of; "The scarf surmounted the gown". 3. Reach the highest point of; "We scaled the Mont Blanc". 4. 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". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "surmount" was first used: sometime in the early 14th century. (references) |
Note: Surmount \Sur*mount"\, transitive verb. [imperative past participle Surmounted; present participle verb or noun Surmounting.]. (Websters 1913) |
Synonyms: SurmountSynonyms: exceed (v), get over (v), master (v), outdo (v), outgo (v), outmatch (v), outstrip (v), overcome (v), scale (v), subdue (v), surpass (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Ascent | Climb, clamber, ramp, scramble, escalade, surmount; shin, shinny, shinney; scale, scale the heights. |
Height | Verb: be high; Adjective: tower, soar, command; hover, hover over, fly over;orbit, be in orbit; cap, culminate; overhang, hang over, impend, beetle, bestride, ride, mount; perch, surmount; cover; overtop; (be superior); stand on tiptoe. |
Success | Surmount a difficulty, overcome a difficulty, get over a difficulty, get over an obstacle; se tirer d'affaire; make head against; stem the torrent, stem the tide, stem the current; weather the storm, weather a point; turn a corner, keep one's head above water, tide over; master; get the better of, have the better of, gain the better of, gain the best of, gain the upper hand, gain the ascendancy, gain the whip hand, gain the start of; distance; surpass; (superiority). |
Transcursion | Overstep, overpass, overreach, overgo, override, overleap, overjump, overskip, overlap, overshoot the mark; outstrip, outleap, outjump, outgo, outstep, outrun, outride, outrival, outdo; beat, beat hollow; distance; leave in the lurch, leave in the rear; throw into the shade; exceed, transcend, surmount; soar; (rise). |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Surmount |
| English words defined with "surmount": Exuperate ♦ Impediment in speech, insuperable, insurmountable ♦ stiff, Surmounting ♦ To get over, To help over ♦ unclimbable, unsurmountable, uphill. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "surmount": Assassin ♦ Back and Edge ♦ Campaign ♦ Enemy ♦ fish pass, fishway ♦ Grandparents ♦ Hawk ♦ Siege, Steeple, Struggling, Stumble. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "surmount": superable. (references) |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | Turkey | In fact, it is virtually impossible to surmount complicated bureaucratic requirements, language obstacles, and purchasing transactions without a competent local agent. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
James Monroe | 1817-1825 | A people who were able to surmount in their infant state such great perils would be more competent as they rose into manhood to repel any which they might meet in their progress. |
Martin van Buren | 1837-1841 | We have seen time gradually dispel every unfavorable foreboding and our Constitution surmount every adverse circumstance dreaded at the outset as beyond control. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Surmount" is generally used as a lexical verb (infinitive) -- approximately 91.49% of the time. "Surmount" is used about 47 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 91.49% | 43 | 52,181 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 8.51% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Total | 100.00% | 47 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "surmount": surmount a difficulty ♦ surmount an obstacle. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
surmount | 3 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "surmount"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | vë sipër, kapërcej (bypass, climb over, cross, exceed, fight off, get over, go one better than, hop, lap, leap, leave out, miss out, outdo, overbalance, overcome, overmaster, overpower, span, transcend, turn, vault). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | تغلب على المصاعب, تسلق (ascent, climb, creep, get over, get up, mount, mounting, ramble, scale, scaling, scramble, swarm, swarm up), علا (overlie, pick up, tower). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | увенчавам (crown), прехвърлям (alienate, assign, convey, deed, devolve, heave, transfer), превъзмогвам (conquer, fight, overcome, prevail, vanquish), преодолявам (bear down, break through, fight, get over, hurdle, live down, master, negotiate, overcome, overmaster, overpass, overpower, override, overrule, pass over, prevail, ride out, vanquish, win through), преминавам (adjourn, get over, get through, go by, melt, merge, overblow, overpass, pass, pass along, pass away, pass by, pass on, passage, proceed, run, shade, traverse), покривам (bestride, cap, case, clothe, coat, cope, cover, cover up, deck, defray, do over, encase, encrust, enshroud, film, horse, invest, mantle, overcast, overlay, overlie, overspread, pave, pit, pustulate, sheet, vesture, wreathe), издигам се над (overlook, overtop). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 戰勝 (prevail), 战胜 (surmounted, Surmounting, Victorious). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | zdolat (conquer, cope, defeat, negotiate, overbear, overpower, vanquish), tyèit se, přemoci (conquer, defeat, fight down, master, overbear, overcome, overmaster, overpower, overwhelm, prostrate, reduce, stifle, swallow, vanquish), překonat (beat, better, bridge, clear, conquer, eclipse, exceed, Excel, get the better of, go beyond, heal, outdo, overcome, refute, surpass, tide over). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | فاءق امدن (Get), غالب امدن بر (Induce), ازمیان برداشتن , بالاقرارگرفتن , برطرف کردن (Acquit, Dispel, Eliminate, Loose, Rectify, Remove). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | surmonter (surpass). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | überwinden (defeat, get over, negotiate, outgrow, overcome, quell, subdue, subjugate, to overcome (overcame, vanquish, win over). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | υπερβαίνω (exceed, go beyond, outdo, outstrip, overdraw, overreach, overrun, overstep, overtop, pass, surpass, transcend, transgress). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | לעלות על-, ל"ת'בר על- (make up for, master, overcome). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | tetõz (roof), leküzd (fight down, master, negotiate, overcome, tide over, to fight back, to fight down, to fight off, to surmount, to surmount to sg, to tide over, to vanquish, vanquish), legyûr, felülmúl (exceed, Excel, outbid, outmatch, outreach, outrival, outshine, out-top, to cap, to exceed, to excel, to flog, to overshadow, to overtop, to pass, to surmount, to surmount to sg, to surpass, to transcend, transcend). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | superare (be over, cap, clear, come through, exceed, excel, get over, get through, go over, negotiate, outclass, outdo, outgo, outmatch, outnumber, outrange, outstrip, overcome, overrun, overtake, pass, ride out, round, surpass, top, upstage), sormontare (overcome). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 乗り越える (to climb over, to ride across, to surmount), 山'越す (to go across a mountain, to surmount a difficulty). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | のり"える (to climb over, to ride across, to surmount), やま'"す (to go across a mountain, to surmount a difficulty). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | urmountsay superar (bear down, beat, better, cap, clear away, cope with, defeat, exceed, outgrow, outrival, overcome, overmatch, paragon, ride out, surpass, vanquish), sobrepujar (bang, lick, outdo, surpass, top), vencer (bear down, clear away, defeat, lick, outdo, outrival, overcome, overmatch, overpass, overpower, subdue, subjugate, triumph, vanquish, whop, win), transpor (bestride, clear, convert, cross, go beyond, jump, overjump, overleap, overpass, pass, put across, stride, transfer, transpose), encimar (top), dominar (come over, command, conquer, control, cover, dominate, domineer, enthral, enthrall, govern, have command of, lick, live out, lord, manage, master, outmatch, overbear, overcome, overmaster, overpass, overpower, quell, rein, rein in, repress, restrain, rule, subdue, subject, subjugate, vanquish, wield), coroar (cap, coronate, crown, diadem, garland, king, top). (various references) trece peste (bestride, bridge, clear, draw, get over, go over, jump, override, overrule, overrun, pass over, span, stride, tread), birui (conquer, defeat, drub, master, overbear, overcome, overpower, subdue, vanquish, win), învinge (beat, best, break through, circumvent, conquer, defeat, discomfit, dispose, drub, flog, floor, get the better of, knock, master, overcome, overmaster, overpower, pull through, reason down, thrash, vanquish, whip, win, win over, worst). (various references) преодолевать (bear down, break out of, cope, get over, get round, overcame, overcome). (various references) savladati (cope, defeat, fight down, master, overcome, overmaster, overmatch, overpower, scale, vanquish). (various references) superar a (beat, outreach, overbear, surpass), zanjar el problema (have it out with, resolve a problem), vencer a (overwhelm, pip, vanquish). (various references) höja sig över (rise above, top), övervinna (conquer, get over, overcome, vanquish, worst). (various references) yenmek (annihilate, bear down, bear the bell, beat, beat all hollow, best, break, carry away the bell, checkmate, circumvent, clobber, confound, conquer, cut out, defeat, discomfit, down, floor, get the better of, give a beating, knock out, land, lick, master, outbox, outclass, outdo, outgo, overpower, pip, prevail, skunk, slam, smash, subjugate, swamp, thrash, trim, triumph, trounce, vanquish, wallop, wear down, whelm, whip, whop, win over, wipe the floor with smb., worst), halletmek (adjust, arrange, clear up, compound, dispatch, dispose of, dissolve, figure out, get things done, hurdle, lay on, lick, manage, overcome, polish off, resolve, solve, sort, sort out, Square, unriddle, untangle, untie, untwine, untwist, unzip, work out), aşmak (be in excess of, bestride, clear, defeat, exceed, go beyond, negotiate, outgo, outreach, overbrim, overlap, overrun, overstep, pass, pass beyond, pass over, stride, surpass, top, transcend, transgress), üzerinde olmak, üstesinden gelmek (accomplish, come through, cope, dope, dope out, fix, get over, get the better of, go over big, handle, hurdle, lick, overcome, polish off, tide over). (various references) перевалити, переборювати (bear, overpass, subdue, swallow down, tide over, wear down). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | transcendere. (various references) |
| Old French | 900-1400 | surmounter. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "surmount": surmountable, surmounted, surmounting, surmounts. (additional references) | |
Words containing "surmount": insurmountable, insurmountably. (additional references) | |
| |
"Surmount" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Sarmiento, Sermoneta, Syremont. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "surmount" (pronounced sermou"nt) |
| 4 | -m ou" n t | amount, Mount. |
| 3 | -ou" n t | account, count, discount, miscount, recount. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "m-n-o-r-s-t-u-u" | |
-1 letter: nostrum, outruns, runouts, tumours. | |
-2 letters: mounts, mourns, mutons, outrun, runout, tumors, tumour. | |
-3 letters: morns, morts, mount, mourn, muons, muton, norms, notum, roust, routs, runts, snort, snout, storm, stour, strum, tonus, torus, tours, tumor, turns. | |
-4 letters: mons, morn, mors, mort, most, mots, muns, muon, must, muts, noms, norm, nous, nuts, onus, orts, ours, oust, outs. | |
| Words containing the letters "m-n-o-r-s-t-u-u" | |
+1 letter: surmounts. | |
+2 letters: outnumbers, surmounted. | |
+3 letters: surmounting, uncustomary. | |
+4 letters: monocultures, mournfullest, outmaneuvers, rambunctious, surmountable. | |
+5 letters: granulomatous, tremulousness, uncustomarily. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Quotations: Non-fiction | 5. Quotations: Speeches 6. Usage Frequency 7. Expressions 8. Expressions: Internet | 9. Translations: Modern 10. Translations: Ancient 11. Derivations 12. Rhymes | 13. Anagrams 14. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.