Outmaneuvers

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To skillfully defeat an opponent by using clever moves or strategies to gain advantage
2. Achieving victory over another by employing superior planning and tactical movement
3. To outperform or outsmart by applying strategic and skillful maneuvers

Etymology: This is an inflected form, the third-person singular present of "outmaneuver," so it carries the same history as the base verb. "Outmaneuver" is a straightforward compound: "out-" (from Old English "ūt," meaning "outside" or "away from within," a word that has come down unchanged in sense through the whole Germanic family) joined to "maneuver." That second element came into English from French "manœuvre," a term originally meaning manual labour or handling, from Latin "manu operare," literally "to work by hand." Maneuver shifted from physical handling to military troop movements and later to clever tactical manipulation, and "outmaneuver" builds on that tactical sense, meaning to get the better of someone by moving more cleverly than they do.

Synonyms: outsmart, outwit, outplay