outstanding

Everyday

1. Outstanding means extremely good, much better than most. tree →
2. Outstanding means not yet paid, done or sorted out: outstanding homework, an outstanding bill. tree →
3. Outstanding can mean standing out, easy to notice. tree →

In the lessons

In school reports «outstanding» is high praise for excellent work or behaviour. In money problems an outstanding amount is what is still owed: if a bill is £50 and £30 is paid, £20 is outstanding. In everyday life outstanding jobs are ones still to be done.

Examples

• Your science project is outstanding! tree →
• She won an award for outstanding effort. tree →
• The view from the top was outstanding. tree →
• There are two pieces of homework still outstanding. tree →
• The bill of $80 had $25 outstanding. tree →
• He is an outstanding swimmer. tree →
• We need to sort out the outstanding problems before the trip. tree →
• The school was rated outstanding by the inspectors. tree →

Note

No -er/-est forms; say «truly outstanding», «most outstanding». Two quite different meanings: praise (excellent) and «still owed or left to do» — read the context. In maths, outstanding = remaining, found by subtracting what is paid or done from the total.