outgeneral

American

[out-jen-er-uhl] / ˌaʊtˈdʒɛn ər əl /

verb (used with object)

outgeneraled, outgeneraling, outgeneralled, outgeneralling

to outdo or surpass in generalship.

outgeneral British

/ ˌaʊtˈdʒɛnərəl /

verb

(tr) to surpass in generalship

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of outgeneral

First recorded in 1760–70; out- + general

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.

Then I saw an elderly gentleman pacing back and forth between two feminine chatterboxes, and trying to outgeneral the two happy people.

From A Romance in Transit by Lynde, Francis

There were many signs, and I had to be always on the lookout to outgeneral them.

From Death Valley in '49 by Manly, William Lewis

Well, as anybody at the Drones will tell you, Bertram Wooster is a pretty hard chap to outgeneral.

From Right Ho, Jeeves by Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville)

To outgeneral a dog-fancier was a tribute to his shrewdness; to save two hundred dollars on a single purchase was economy of a high order.

From The Auction Block by Beach, Rex Ellingwood

But that he could outgeneral William, that he could even manage Gospatrick and his intrigues Hereward expected as little as that his own nephews Edwin and Morcar could do it.

From Hereward, the Last of the English by Kingsley, Charles

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023