surmount
verb
Did you know?
Our verb mount, meaning "ascend, get up onto", comes from the same Latin root as mountain, and we keep those images in mind when using surmount, since climbing up or over a mountain is a symbol of achievement. The word almost always refers to human effort, and almost always in a positive way; thus, we speak of surmounting difficulties, surmounting problems, surmounting hurdles, surmounting handicaps—you get the idea.
Synonyms
Examples of surmount in a Sentence
Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 21 June 2024
Loyalty to the common Constitution surmounted that divisive moment and went on to surmount many others.
—Charles Kesler, National Review, 20 June 2024
In Japan, government incentives are encouraging clean power production, clean transportation, and clean manufacturing, thereby surmounting the direct consumer cost from clean hydrogen.
—S. Julio Friedmann, Foreign Affairs, 15 Sep. 2022
And a national weapons program, which would likely have the resources to surmount them, would not be interested in such a bomb, because of its limitations and relative unreliability.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for surmount 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'surmount.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near surmount
Cite this Entry
“Surmount.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surmount. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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surmount
verb
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