Superhuman means having abilities or qualities that go far beyond what normal humans can do. When someone lifts a car off a trapped person in an emergency, witnesses might describe it as superhuman strength. When an athlete accomplishes something that seems physically impossible, commentators call it a superhuman effort.

The word combines “super” (meaning above or beyond) with “human.” Comic book heroes like Superman have superhuman powers: they can fly, see through walls, or run faster than trains. The word also applies to real-world achievements that push past normal limits. When chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov played against IBM's Deep Blue computer, people debated whether machines could develop superhuman intelligence.

Real people sometimes perform superhuman feats during crises. A mother might display superhuman determination to rescue her child. A marathon runner pushing through exhaustion in the final mile shows superhuman willpower. Scientists use the term when describing abilities that exceed normal human limits: certain animals have superhuman senses, like dogs hearing frequencies we can't detect or eagles seeing prey from far away.

The word often expresses amazement at what seems impossible. When your friend solves an incredibly difficult math problem, you might joke that they have superhuman intelligence. It's a way of saying someone has pushed past ordinary limits into territory that seems almost magical, even when it's really just an extraordinary level of human capability.