verb
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to go around the flank of (an opposing army)
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to get the better of
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of outflank
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That technology can outflank China on cost and environmental performance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The US gains allies in its quest to outflank the Chinese in the field of AI and compute - the Gulf nations get a powerful partner in their search for a replacement for oil revenues.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2025
I watched red leaf monkeys and macaques scampering to outflank one another in the canopy.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 23, 2024
The improved economic outlook has helped Maduro consolidate domestic support, outflank his opponents and reverse his political fortunes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2022
By the autumn of 1914, fighting on the Western Front—Belgium and France—had shifted back to the north as the opposing armies maneuvered to outflank one another.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
