dépasser

A very common, versatile verb: to exceed a limit or amount (dépasser le budget), to overtake or pass (dépasser une voiture), or to surpass someone's expectations or abilities (ça me dépasse, that's beyond me). One of the first high-frequency verbs learners should know well.

• Ne dépassez pas la vitesse limite sur l'autoroute. — Don't exceed the speed limit on the highway.
• Cette voiture a dépassé un camion en pleine côte. — This car overtook a truck on a hill.
• Franchement, son comportement me dépasse. — Honestly, his behavior is beyond me.

For overtaking on the road, dépasser and doubler are near-synonyms, but doubler is the term more specifically tied to passing another vehicle — learners can use either, though doubler sounds more natural in that specific driving context.

Often confused with doubler.

• expression Dépasser les bornes — A widely used fixed expression meaning to go too far or overstep acceptable limits — bornes originally referred to boundary stones marking property lines, and figuratively any limit not to be crossed.