outwit

out·wit | \ ˌau̇t-ˈwit

How to pronounce outwit (audio)

\

outwitted; outwitting

Definition of outwit

transitive verb

1 : to get the better of by superior cleverness : outsmart

2 archaic : to surpass in wisdom

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Examples of outwit in a Sentence

The fox managed to outwit the hunter by hiding in a tree. They thought they had outwitted the new teacher.

Recent Examples on the Web Creating a really useful deepfake detector might be even harder than the contest suggests, according to Farid of UC Berkeley, because new techniques are rapidly emerging and a malicious deepfake maker might work hard to outwit a particular detector. — Will Knight, Wired, "Deepfakes Aren't Very Good. Nor Are the Tools to Detect Them," 12 June 2020 Yes, her account of one Jewish-Czech family’s race to outwit the Nazis makes for thrilling reading. — New York Times, "A Box of Secrets Led to the Story of Her Father’s Painful Wartime Past," 28 Mar. 2020 Murphy estimates that 60% of fines arose from crooks' outwitting banks' screening systems, while another 20% came about because of simple errors on the part of bank employees. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, "A near record year for money laundering: Banks hit with $10 billion in fines," 11 Mar. 2020 The Cowboys defense was thoroughly outwitted on a double-reverse trick play as a Bills receiver found a Bills running back for a touchdown. — Jori Epstein, USA TODAY, "Buffalo Bills make statement with win over error-prone Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day," 29 Nov. 2019 The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. — Mary Colurso | Mcolurso@al.com, al, "Are you ready for ‘Hunger Games’ prequel book and film?," 29 Apr. 2020 Except for roadrunners outwitting coyotes, the desert supports no wildlife. — Roger Naylor, azcentral, "Lake Pleasant is a desert oasis near Phoenix. Here's everything you can do there," 4 Mar. 2020 Grace is that film’s Veronica in a wedding dress: a street-smart, sarcastic smoker who has to outwit, outplay and outlast a bunch of privileged buffoons obsessed with status. — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, "Review: ‘Ready or Not’ sacrifices horror for irony and laughs to skewer the 1 percent," 19 Aug. 2019 Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb might be the most complete receiver in this draft anyway, with speed and strength to overwhelm defenders, poise and instincts to outwit them, and three years of production in one of the nation’s most explosive offenses. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, "NFL draft: Can anyone catch Oklahoma receiver CeeDee Lamb?," 9 Apr. 2020

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

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Cite this Entry

“Outwit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outwit. Accessed 1 Oct. 2020.

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