Fox
/fɔks/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- A carnivorous mammal: A small to medium-sized wild animal with a pointed muzzle, upright ears, and a long, bushy tail. Foxes are known for their intelligence and cunning.
- The fur of this animal: The grey or reddish-brown pelt of a fox, used in clothing.
- A cunning or deceitful person: A person who is clever, sly, and skilled at deception.
- A member of an Algonquian people: A person belonging to a Native American people historically living in the Great Lakes region.
- The Algonquian language: The language spoken by the Fox people.
Verb:
- To deceive or trick someone: To outwit or confuse someone through cleverness.
- To confuse or perplex: To cause someone to be unable to think clearly; to baffle.
- To become discolored: (Of paper, books, etc.) to become stained with brownish spots, resembling the color of a fox's fur.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- We saw a red fox crossing the field at dusk.
- Her coat was trimmed with fox.
- Don't trust him; he's an old fox.
- Verb:
- The magician's clever illusion completely foxed the audience.
- The last question on the exam foxed me.
- The pages of the old book had foxed with age.
Advanced Usage
- "To fox someone": To outsmart or deceive someone through cunning.
- He tried to fox me with a complicated contract, but I had a lawyer review it.
- "As cunning as a fox": An idiom describing someone who is very sly and clever.
- Be careful when negotiating with her; she's as cunning as a fox.
Variants and Related Words
- Foxed (adj): Describing paper or books that are discolored with brown spots.
- The valuable manuscript was unfortunately foxed.
- Foxing (n): The process or result of becoming discolored with brown spots.
- The foxing on the edges of the pages indicated its age.
- Vixen (n): A female fox. Also used to describe a spiteful or quarrelsome woman.
- Foxhole (n): A small pit dug for individual shelter in battle. (This is a compound word listed separately as a variant).
Synonyms
- Noun (animal): Reynard (a literary name for a fox).
- Noun (person): Trickster, slyboots, deceiver.
- Verb (to deceive): Baffle, bewilder, outwit, trick.
Related Phrasal Verbs
(Note: "Fox" is not commonly used to form standard phrasal verbs. Its verbal use is typically direct.)
Related Idioms
- "A fox in the henhouse": A dangerous or untrustworthy person in a position where they can cause harm.
- Putting the lobbyist in charge of the regulations was like putting a fox in the henhouse.
- "To set a fox to guard the henhouse": To put someone in charge of a situation who is likely to betray that trust for personal gain.
- "Crazy like a fox": Seemingly foolish or confused but actually very clever and shrewd.
- He acts forgetful, but he's crazy like a fox and remembers every detail.
Noun
- the Algonquian language of the Fox
- a member of an Algonquian people formerly living west of Lake Michigan along the Fox River
- English religious leader who founded the Society of Friends (1624-1691)
- English statesman who supported American independence and the French Revolution (1749-1806)
- the grey or reddish-brown fur of a fox
- a shifty deceptive person
- alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs
Verb
- become discolored with, or as if with, mildew spots
- be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly
- These questions confuse even the experts
- This question completely threw me
- This question befuddled even the teacher
- deceive somebody
- We tricked the teacher into thinking that class would be cancelled next week