outsmart
Americanverb (used with object)
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outsmarts,
present (3rd person singular)
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outsmarted,
past participle, past
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outsmarting
present participle
idioms
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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outsmartsimple
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outsmartssimple
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have outsmartedperfect
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has outsmartedperfect
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am outsmartingprogressive
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are outsmartingprogressive
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is outsmartingprogressive
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have been outsmartingperfect progressive
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has been outsmartingperfect progressive
Past
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outsmartedsimple
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had outsmartedperfect
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was outsmartingprogressive
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were outsmartingprogressive
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had been outsmartingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of outsmart
Explanation
When you outsmart someone, you use your cleverness or intelligence to defeat them in some way. The roadrunner will always outsmart the coyote, at least according to Saturday morning cartoons. When two countries are negotiating with each other, they're often each trying to outsmart the other — to maneuver in a way that gives them the better deal. A game of chess is all about which player can strategize better, or who can outsmart their opponent. And classic TV detectives use their wit to outsmart the bad guys by the end of each episode.
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.
See Examples For:
An A.I. that can refine its own code—what experts call recursive self-improvement—could also outsmart human efforts to control it.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
It is the size of a pin head – yet in many ways - more efficient than a supercomputer and able to outsmart the smartest AI.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
While working his way back home, he’s forced to outsmart a vicious beast at close quarters, and he takes up residence with a suitor.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Darnold is long overdue for another stinker, and it will happen here against a Mike Vrabel-coached defense that will simply outsmart him and defensive-minded Seahawks’ coach Mike Macdonald.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2026
“Samson may be evil,” Jack said, “but he’s still just a horse. The Huntsman will outsmart him...or kill him. Either way it’s not going to take too long. We’ve got to get out of here.”
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
“Maybe that’s post-AGI, once we’ve achieved the mission,” he said, referring to the moment when AI outsmarts humans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
Like “Red Eye,” “Drop” is a brisk and breathtaking thriller where the woman outsmarts her persecutor at every turn, despite her past traumas.
From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2025
Part of the show’s enduring appeal is tagging along with the unkempt, endlessly resourceful detective as he outsmarts each episode’s suspect, sniffing out clues even his counterparts have overlooked, until a case is cracked.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2024
He’s a drop-back passer with underrated pocket mobility, perfect mechanics and he simply outsmarts everyone else on the field.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 5, 2018
He leaks to them and outsmarts them, but when the British series portrayed the press it was covering the whip-turned-prime minister with hostile snark.
From Slate ● Feb. 14, 2014
It was nearly 30 years ago when chess helped mankind properly understand that it was being outsmarted by machines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
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.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2025
It is also referred to as an urban mosquito that has outsmarted traditional methods of control.
From BBC ● May 23, 2024
Wednesday is the 50th anniversary of the day King outsmarted and outplayed Riggs to win the best-of-five match 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 and earn a then-staggering $100,000 prize.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2023
He liked the name Jerry, because it was the same as that funny mouse in the old cartoons, the one who always outsmarted the cat.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
Museums spent the past few years sinking resources into outsmarting climate-change activists who sloshed tomato soup, cake icing and other foodstuffs all over iconic masterpieces to get attention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
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.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2025
“I feel like we’re in one of those Sunday night dramas about two bright-eyed, feisty old lady detectives outsmarting the police at every turn.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2025
"Dumb Money" depicts working class people outsmarting some of the richest financial minds and companies in the country.
From Salon ● Dec. 1, 2023
Funny, in the arena, when I poured out those berries, I was only thinking of outsmarting the Gamemakers, not how my actions would reflect on the Capitol.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
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.
