Standard Lemma guide

outwit

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK, US: /aʊtˈwɪt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪt
  • CMU ARPABET: AW1 T W IH2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To get the better of; to outsmart, to beat in a competition of wits.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

beat through cleverness and wit

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • I beat the traffic
  • She outfoxed her competitors

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: overreach, outsmart, outfox, beat, circumvent

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: surpass, outstrip, outmatch, outgo, exceed, outdo, surmount, outperform

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Germanic *ūt Proto-Germanic *ūt- Old English ūt- Middle English ut- English out- English wit English outwit From out- + wit.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: être plus malin — to beat in a battle of wits
  • Māori: whakawareware — to beat in a battle of wits
  • Māori: rorerau — to beat in a battle of wits
  • Polish: przechytrzać — to beat in a battle of wits
  • Polish: przechytrzyć — to beat in a battle of wits
  • Spanish: engañar — to beat in a battle of wits
  • Spanish: aventajar — to beat in a battle of wits
  • Spanish: burlar — to beat in a battle of wits
  • Spanish: ser más listo que — to beat in a battle of wits
  • Swedish: överlista — to beat in a battle of wits