outthink

verb out·think \ ˌau̇t-ˈthiŋk \

|Updated on: 30 Jul 2018

Definition of outthink

outthought play \ˌau̇t-ˈthȯt\; outthinking

transitive verb

1 : to outdo or surpass in thinking : to go beyond or transcend by thinking

Thus does a candidate who is certainly capable of equalling or outthinking his competitors on the issues find himself fighting a shadow war against himself.
—E. J. Dionne, Jr.

2 : to get the better of by thinking more quickly or adroitly than : outwit

All trying to buy low, to sell high, now to outthink the other fellow, now to collude with them, to defraud a third party.
—David Mamet

Recent Examples of outthink from the Web

The restaurant has a tendency to outthink itself with all of its interesting thoughts.

— devra first, BostonGlobe.com, "What’s on the menu at Falmouth’s Buffalo Jump? ‘Weird food that only weirdos like’," 11 July 2018
Can a legal system designed by humans keep pace with activities produced by an AI capable of outthinking and potentially outmaneuvering them?

— henry a. kissinger, The Atlantic, "How the Enlightenment Ends," 15 May 2018
They were simply outthought by the more experienced side.

— SI.com, "Why AC Milan's Future Is Bright Under Gattuso and Young Stars Despite Underwhelming Season," 11 May 2018
Those are the tricky guys who can kind of steal an extra hit here and there if a defender outthinks themselves position-wise.

— dan wiederer, chicagotribune.com, "Kerry Wood and ‘the greatest game ever pitched’: The oral history of May 6, 1998 at Wrigley Field," 1 May 2018
The pair have built such a reputation of coming through in the clutch that foes often outthink themselves with conservative, uncommon or unconventional calls against the five-time champs.

— USA TODAY, "Patriots don't need any help but they tend to get it," 28 Jan. 2018
Originally a second-round pick in 2011, Mack has had to outwork and outthink fellow players to carve spots for himself on team rosters.

— josh robbins, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Magic’s Shelvin Mack might become a coach one day," 22 Jan. 2018
For lasting success, the party will also have to out-hustle and outthink the Republicans.

— jeet heer, New Republic, "Democrats Can’t Rely on a Trump Backlash," 14 Dec. 2017
Herman himself might have outthought himself a few times, including two strange decisions on fourth down, both failures — one on the doorstep of the end zone and the other around midfield in the fourth quarter.

— paul myerberg, USA TODAY, "Takeaways from Maryland's upset win at Texas in Tom Herman's Longhorns debut," 2 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'outthink.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.