as in to outwit
to get the better of through cleverness
outmaneuvered his congressional opponent by co-opting his call for change in Washington
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of outmaneuver
But he was outmaneuvered by a bipartisan groundswell of support from lawmakers and the public, and eventually dropped his opposition.
—
Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2026
Legal experts told the American-Statesman at the time that the case reflected the agency’s increasingly common use of speed and technical arguments to outmaneuver attorney’s efforts to slow deportations.
—Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 15 Jan. 2026
Ian Terry won Big Brother season 14 at just 21 years old, becoming the show’s youngest champion after outmaneuvering veteran players with a quiet — but highly calculated — game.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026
How will both countries’ robotaxi operators outmaneuver each other for market share?
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for outmaneuver
Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2026
Legal experts told the American-Statesman at the time that the case reflected the agency’s increasingly common use of speed and technical arguments to outmaneuver attorney’s efforts to slow deportations.
—Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 15 Jan. 2026
Ian Terry won Big Brother season 14 at just 21 years old, becoming the show’s youngest champion after outmaneuvering veteran players with a quiet — but highly calculated — game.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026
How will both countries’ robotaxi operators outmaneuver each other for market share?
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for outmaneuver
Recent Examples of Synonyms for outmaneuver
Verb
-
The characters here, though, are nowhere near so smart as those conniving pagans and can only dream of outwitting the sophisticated folk from the mainland, coming there with their talk of cake, and comfy chairs, and their lies.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Her adrenal gland would begin to work overtime and she’d be lifted up, energized, hunted, and desperate to outwit her attacker and survive.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
TikToks promising secret loopholes, Reddit threads dissecting deductions and content creators insisting ways to outsmart the IRS.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Furthermore, Microsoft executives threw in their lot with the mercurial Altman, who doesn’t care at all about them and seems to outsmart them at every turn.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Former Mayor Eric Adams attempted to thwart Mamdani’s plans by stacking the Rent Guidelines Board with his own appointees at the end of his term.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The military said in a statement that the attackers overnight had sought to breach the checkpoint but were thwarted by security forces.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Neglecting The Kitchen Sink Your sink may look spick-and-span, but looks can be deceiving.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
16 Feb. 2026
-
But a superficial comparison between Delta, United, and American across certain headline metrics can be deceiving.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Fortune,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame defeated Corona Centennial 59-56.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Feb. 2026
-
That particular corner was filled with pink shirts and defeated faces, and Salloi stood in front of them, fingers in the corners of his mouth, drawing his smile wide like the Joker.—
Daniel Sperry,
Kansas City Star,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
France’s Eric Perrot overcame a wobble on the final shoot and a late surge from Norway’s Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen to win a sensational first men’s relay gold medal for his country today.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
17 Feb. 2026
-
While most fungal attempts at infection fail, a small number do succeed thanks to the constant evolutionary pressure on pathogens to overcome host plant defenses.—
Lily Peck,
The Conversation,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Liv Morgan begged for a tag, but she was outfoxed by a blind tag from Rhea Ripley.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
-
But even foxes can outfox themselves by their own designs.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
As loyalties blur and tensions erupt, survival depends on who can outthink – and outgun – everyone else.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The real edge is in responsiveness − the ability to outthink, outproduce and outmaneuver its competitor.—
Andrew Latham,
The Conversation,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Outmaneuver.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outmaneuver. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
