Outstanding

How to spell outstanding

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce outstanding

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does outstanding mean?

1. adjectiveExceptionally good; clearly better than others of its kind.
2. adjectiveStill owed, unpaid, or not yet dealt with.

Outstanding in a sentence

• Her outstanding performance earned the team the contract.

• The bank sent a reminder about the outstanding balance on the account.

• The restaurant received outstanding reviews from every critic.

• Several outstanding invoices remained on the company ledger.

Where does outstanding come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is a transparent native English compound, built from the Old English prefix 'out', meaning 'beyond' or 'surpassing', joined to the verb 'stand', which descends from Old English 'standan', meaning 'to remain in place' or 'to be upright'. The figurative sense of something that 'stands out' from its surroundings, and so is conspicuous or excellent, developed in the early modern period and became common by the eighteenth century. A second, quite practical sense grew from the same image: a debt or task that still 'stands out' as unsettled remains unresolved, which is why an unpaid bill is said to be outstanding. Both senses share the same root, so the spelling is regular; the only mild traps are remembering the single 't' after the 'ou' and not doubling any consonant. Because 'stand' is one of the oldest and most stable words in English, the compound has kept its plain spelling intact across all dialects.

How the word is built

• out- (beyond, surpassing)
• stand (to remain, to be erect)
• -ing (adjective suffix)