To have a higher official position or status than someone else.
From the prefix 'out-' (beyond, more than) combined with 'rank' (a position in a hierarchy), creating a compound verb meaning 'to exceed in rank.' The term became standard in military contexts during the 19th century as formal hierarchies became more rigid. It later expanded to general use for any status comparison.
In the military, outranking is simple—a captain outranks a lieutenant—but in organizations without clear ranks, people constantly compete to 'outrank' each other through titles, experience, or influence, showing humans naturally create hierarchies even where they weren't formally established.
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