Outfox

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˌaʊtˈfɒks/

Definitions

1. To cleverly outsmart or outwit someone, gaining an advantage through cunning tactics
2. To gain the upper hand over another by using superior intelligence or trickery
3. To cleverly evade or defeat an opponent by using cleverness and strategy

Etymology: "Outfox" is a plain formation: the prefix "out-" added to "fox," meaning to get the better of someone by cunning, as a fox outwits a hound or a farmer. The verb works the way "outwit" or "outrun" do, with "out-" carrying the sense of surpassing or defeating. The base word goes back a long way. "Fox" descends from a Proto-Germanic form, *fuhsaz, which passed into Old English as "fox" and has stayed in the language ever since. The animal's name was already well established when English speakers began attaching "out-" to it, so the sporting or competitive sense of the verb grew naturally out of the familiar image of the fox as a wily creature. The prefix "out-" itself has an ancient ancestry in Old English "ūt," meaning "outside" or "away," which gave English many verbs of surpassing, such as "outdo," "outlive," and "outshine." "Outfox" belongs to that same family.

Synonyms: outsmart, outwit

Antonyms: be fooled