Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To stay longer than (another or others); overstay.
- transitive verb To show greater endurance than.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To stay longer than; overstay; remain beyond: as, to
outstay one's welcome.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To stay beyond or longer than.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To stay beyond or longer than.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb stay too long
- verb surpass in staying power
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Madrid has also adopted an indulgent line toward the tens of thousands of East Europeans who "outstay" their tourist visas to work in the country's fields, factories and restaurants.
The East Looks Ok 2007
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The solos never outstay their welcome, and he never overcomplicates things.
Keith Urban – Defying Gravity « We Don't Count Your Own Visits To Your Blog 2009
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The opening act, a conversation piece, always tends to outstay its welcome, and Peter Selwyn, conducting, might have helped the fine cast and orchestra by quickening the tempi.
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It's not hard to read, but you do have to keep on your toes (although, at only 158 pages, it doesn't outstay its welcome).
Only Joking by Gabriel Josipovici – review Nicholas Lezard 2010
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Told me never to outstay my welcome and so I'm always on edge, wondering whether I should be going, whether the offer of another drink is meant to be declined.
Winter-Love in a Dark Corner Con Chapman 2012
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I suppose Paul has always said that Kauto will outstay the other one, but he's a wonderful jumper, Master Minded, and if he gets his jumping right …In view of their shared ownership, it is a pity that the pair don't seem to get along.
Clive Smith: 'Kauto Star is fantastic. He has a new life about him' 2011
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Perhaps we should insist on better candidates, go to the inconvenience of voting for them, and then ask them to leave - via term limits - before they outstay their welcome.
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Fugard's three-hander is wordy but meaty, and if it is inclined to outstay its welcome, it does so with grace.
The Road to Mecca 2010
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Let's face it the franchise did more than outstay it's welcome, it beat it to a pulp and destroyed it right in front of our faces, eked every last ounce of humour from it and replayed it until it just wasn't funny any more.
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Perhaps we should insist on better candidates, go to the inconvenience of voting for them, and then ask them to leave - via term limits - before they outstay their welcome.
Michael B. Laskoff: Five Popular Delusions Castrating America 2010
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