Outsmart

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /aʊtˈsmɑː(ɹ)t/

Definitions

1. To achieve a greater level of intelligence than another through clever strategies or deception
2. To gain a strategic advantage over someone else by employing superior ingenuity or cunning methods
3. To gain an advantage over someone by using sharper intelligence or more effective tactics

Etymology: "Outsmart" is a plain compound built from two English words that have been around for centuries. The first part, "out," traces back through Old English "ūt" to a Proto-Germanic root shared with the sense of "outside" or "beyond." The second part, "smart," has a different history: in Old English it meant something closer to "sharp" or "stinging," as in a smart blow, and only later came to describe quick mental sharpness. Put together, "out" plus "smart" gives the sense of getting ahead of someone by being quicker or cleverer than them. The formation follows the same pattern as older verbs like "outrun" and "outwit," where "out-" means "surpass" or "beat at." Because it is simply a combination of two familiar elements, the verb needed no borrowing from another language to exist.

Synonyms: outwit, trick, fool

Antonyms: outsmarted, underestimate