outwit
English
Etymology
From out- + wit.
Pronunciation
- (UK, US) IPA(key): /aʊtˈwɪt/
Audio (Berkshire, UK) (file)
- Rhymes: -ɪt
Verb
outwit (third-person singular simple present outwits, present participle outwitting, simple past and past participle outwitted)
- (transitive) To get the better of; to outsmart, to beat in a competition of wits.
- 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, IV.iii:
- But my dear Lady Teazle 'tis your own fault if you suffer it—when a Husband entertains a groundless suspicion of his Wife and withdraws his confidence from her—the original compact is broke and she owes it to the Honour of her sex to endeavour to outwit him—
- 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, IV.iii:
Synonyms
- outfox, outguess, outsmart, overreach
Translations
outsmart — see outsmart
to beat in a battle of wits
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