Definition

1. 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.

2. 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

1. the Algonquian language of the Fox
2. a member of an Algonquian people formerly living west of Lake Michigan along the Fox River
3. English religious leader who founded the Society of Friends (1624-1691)
4. English statesman who supported American independence and the French Revolution (1749-1806)
5. the grey or reddish-brown fur of a fox
6. a shifty deceptive person
7. alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs

Verb

1. become discolored with, or as if with, mildew spots
2. 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
3. deceive somebody
   • We tricked the teacher into thinking that class would be cancelled next week