outsmart

[out-smahrt]

verb (used with object)

1. to get the better of (someone); outwit.

outsmart

/ ˌaʊtˈsmɑːt /

verb

1. informal,  (tr) to get the better of; outwit

Word History and Origins

Origin of outsmart¹

1925–30; out- + smart (adj.)

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. outsmart oneself, to defeat oneself unintentionally by overly elaborate intrigue, scheming, or the like.

   This time he may have outsmarted himself.

Example Sentences

"You can be sure that other teams will be analysing us so we need to keep improving our tactics and playing style so that we can outsmart them."

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Nansi is too powerful to subdue, and too smart to outsmart.

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For not only had Mamá and Daddy outsmarted segregation and oppression and sent all four of their children to college, but our daughters would be college educated as well.

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Rare hyena behaviours have been caught on camera, including a mother-to-be trying to steal food from wild dogs and outsmarting rivals by hiding a stolen carcass underwater to mask its scent.

Read more on BBC

It’s a macroeconomic version of the pain described by the Moneyist reader, and others like him, who believe that they are being outsmarted and out-earned by their neighbors at every turn.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• baffle 
• bamboozle 
• circumvent 
• deceive 
• outdo 
• outfox 
• outmaneuver