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

Enabling a fast-paced, cloud-powered collaboration culture is critical to rapidly growing companies, positioning them to out innovate, outperform, and outsmart their competitors.

From MIT Technology Review

Finally, if Facebook is going to engage in federal legislation around issues like privacy restrictions, new antitrust standards or the repeal of Section 230, they should stop trying to outsmart and outspend everyone.

From TechCrunch

Getting there required a secret alliance that outsmarted the show’s troubled history.

From Washington Post

The idea of pulling off the perfect crime, outsmarting the law, and making your getaway — in the movies, it’d been romanticized.

From Vox

If such mutations originate in areas without widespread vaccine coverage, they may continue to evolve enough to outsmart currently authorized vaccines.

From Time

With no weapons onboard, the crew is forced to outsmart the pirates.

From The Daily Beast

This is where you can outsmart the regime with cunning patience.

From The Daily Beast

He tried to outsmart the instructors by resting the back of his head on a buoy in the pool.

From The Daily Beast

But like millions of others, I went through phases when I was cocksure I could outsmart the market.

From The Daily Beast

With his self-centered juvenile mind, he never thought anyone would try to outsmart him and succeed.

From Project Gutenberg

Just stay alive and you can outsmart these savages, he repeated ironically to himself.

From Project Gutenberg

A half-crazy kid and yours truly trying to outsmart and out-Tarzan these wild men.

From Project Gutenberg

Don't try to outsmart your interrogator by giving false information.

From Project Gutenberg

It's cat and mouse, who can outsmart whom, hunter versus hunted fun.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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