outwit

/aʊtˈwɪt/

//aʊtˈwɪt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"outwit" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“outwit” is an uncommon English word, ranked #54,369 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#54,369
frequency rank, English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To get the better of; to outsmart, to beat in a competition of wits.

Key facts for outwit
PropertyValue
Headwordoutwit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/aʊtˈwɪt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#54,369
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “outwit” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). outwit lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for outwit is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /aʊtˈwɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #54,369 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To get the better of; to outsmart, to beat in a competition of wits.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for outwit in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From out- + wit. The correct English form is outwit, spelled O-U-T-W-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To get the better of; to outsmart, to beat in a competition of wits.

Etymology

From out- + wit.

Synonyms

outfoxoutguessoutsmartoverreach

This word in other languages

engañar(Español)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "outwit"?
"outwit" is spelled O-U-T-W-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /aʊtˈwɪt/.
What does "outwit" mean?
As a verb, "outwit" means: To get the better of; to outsmart, to beat in a competition of wits.
How do you pronounce "outwit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "outwit" is /aʊtˈwɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "outwit"?
From out- + wit. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “outwit”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is O-U-T-W-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /aʊtˈwɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list