MEANING
To defeat or get around someone by being more cunning than they are.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- outfox a rival
- outfox the opposition
On the page
By changing trains twice, she outfoxed the detective following her.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- outfox
- Past tense
- outfoxed
- Past participle
- outfoxed
- Present participle
- outfoxing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- outfox
- Present continuous
- am/is/are outfoxing
- Present perfect
- have/has outfoxed
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been outfoxing
- Past
- outfoxed
- Past continuous
- was/were outfoxing
- Past perfect
- had outfoxed
- Past perfect continuous
- had been outfoxing
- Future
- will outfox
- Future continuous
- will be outfoxing
- Future perfect
- will have outfoxed
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been outfoxing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: outfox; outfoxes; outfoxed; outfoxed; outfoxing Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description, character. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: outfoxes.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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