outwit
Americanverb (used with object)
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outwits,
present (3rd person singular)
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outwitted,
past participle, past
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outwitting
present participle
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to get the better of by superior ingenuity or cleverness; outsmart.
to outwit a dangerous opponent.
- Synonyms:
- finesse, outthink, outmaneuver, outfox, outguess
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Archaic. to surpass in wisdom or knowledge.
verb
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to get the better of by cunning or ingenuity
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archaic to be of greater intelligence than
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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outwitsimple
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outwitssimple
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have outwittedperfect
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has outwittedperfect
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am outwittingprogressive
-
are outwittingprogressive
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is outwittingprogressive
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have been outwittingperfect progressive
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has been outwittingperfect progressive
Past
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outwittedsimple
-
had outwittedperfect
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was outwittingprogressive
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were outwittingprogressive
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had been outwittingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of outwit
Explanation
Use the verb outwit to describe using your brain to beat an opponent, like outwitting someone by figuring out the answer to a difficult riddle. Wit comes from the Old English word witan, which means "to know." So someone who outwits another person knows more — or at least knows more than the person thought. You can outwit someone with clever words, or with craftiness on the playing field. An unexpected strategy can help one side outwit the other on the battlefield.
Vocabulary lists containing outwit
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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:
To onlookers, it was astonishing seeing a schoolgirl in a headband outwit adults who had been competing at top-flight events since before she was born.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Watch as the fluid camerawork makes her kills look nastier, and the preposterous script allows her to outwit her foes, even with the cards stacked against her at every turn.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2026
Unlike Harry and co, who would perform hair-raising manoeuvres while soaring through the air on broomsticks, real-life players try to outwit their opponents astride PVC pipes.
From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2025
They’ll need to outwit him, first and foremost, and they prove that they can.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2024
“What season was that? We’ve done so many sequences where I outwit dogcatchers....”
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
"This is a self-reliant character who outwits those trying to exploit her with silent grit and steely determination. Momin slipped into this feminist folklore with quiet understanding."
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026
Still, Peter Falk’s formidable cigar-smoking detective serves as an inspiration for Elsbeth, with her intentionally disarming wardrobe, and how she outwits the murderer-of-the-week, played by a famous guest star.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2024
He shot to fame in a popular television series, "Servant of the People", in which he played an honest school teacher who is elected president and outwits crooked lawmakers and shadowy businessmen.
From Reuters ● Jun. 1, 2022
Like “Figaro,” “La Scuola” is a lyrical comedy involving jealous lovers of various classes, including a countess who outwits her philandering count.
From The New Yorker ● May 27, 2019
She turned her head to look at Ash and added, “She even outwits the Fairy Queen.”
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
For many, today's hardships only serve to highlight the absence of a leader who died a decade ago and is still seen as the wiley strategist who outwitted his American foes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Peter Pomerantsev’s “How to Win an Information War” tells the story of Sefton Delmer, “the propagandist who outwitted Hitler.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Ghost Army outwitted the Germans using inflatable tanks, radio trickery, costumes and impersonations.
From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024
Early cancer vaccine research faltered as cancer outwitted and outlasted patients’ weak immune systems, said Olja Finn, a vaccine researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 26, 2023
He was never happier than when he had outwitted some foolish custom, and he was never more melancholy than when brooding over the impossibility of his ever being free.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
The combined efforts of Adam, Barbara and Lydia are crucial to outwitting his schemes.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2024
Good news for those of us still seething over NBC’s 2012 cancellation of “Harry’s Law”: Kathy Bates is once again outwitting opposing counsel and her own colleagues in the upcoming “Matlock” from CBS.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2024
Blackburn were eager not to become a plotline in future 'Welcome to Wrexham' episodes and quickly took control of the game, outwitting their opponents with slick passing and sharp movement to create several chances.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2024
Bletchley Park’s most famous feat was outwitting Germany’s Enigma encryption machine, which produced a constantly changing cipher and was widely considered unbreakable.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 31, 2023
But I felt confident of outwitting any bee.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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.
