Take longer in the telling than (9)
I believe the answer is:
outnumber
'take' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with fundamental existence as well as being verbs in their base form.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for outnumber that I've seen before include "Be more numerous than" , "Be too many for in contest or conflict" , "Exceed in figures" , "Be in the majority" , "Exceed numerically" .)