fox

SayFOKS/fɑks/UK/fɒks/

Pluralfoxes

Verbfoxes, foxing, foxed

20 meanings of fox

Practice

1
wild animalnouncountable or uncountable
A wild animal like a small dog, with a pointed face, pointed ears and a long, thick tail.
Like a small, wild relative of a dog.
A fox ran across the road in front of our car.
The fox has a long, bushy tail.
UsageOne fox, two foxes.
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2
sly personnounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
A clever person who is good at tricking others.
Like the clever animal in old stories who always tricks the others.
Their grandfather was a sly old fox who always won at cards.
Don't trust him. He's a fox when it comes to business deals.
UsageOften used in a sly old fox.
Similaroperator, schemer, trickster
Note
3
attractive personnounslangfigurativelycountable or uncountable
A person, usually a woman, who is very good-looking.
She walked in looking like a total fox in that red dress.
Everyone agreed the new lifeguard was a real fox.
Similarbabe, stunner, hunk, looker, dish
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4
furnoununcountable
The soft fur taken from a fox, often used to make warm clothing.
Her winter coat was trimmed with silver fox.
The old hat was made of fox and felt wonderfully warm.
UsageSay a coat trimmed with fox.
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5
stain (paper)verbintransitive
Of paper, to develop brownish spots from age or dampness.
Like fruit slowly turning brown when left out too long.
The old book's pages had foxed badly over the years.
Cheap paper tends to fox if it sits in a damp room.
Similardiscolor, yellow, spot
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Less common meanings

6
outwitverbtransitive
To trick or fool someone in a clever way.
Like winning a game by being smarter than your opponent.
The thief foxed the guards and slipped past the gate.
Smugglers always try to fox the customs officers.
Similartrick, outwit, fool, deceive, outsmart
7
confuseverbtransitive
To confuse someone so they cannot understand something.
Like a puzzle so tricky it makes your head spin.
The riddle completely foxed the whole class.
These instructions fox me every time I try to follow them.
UsageOften used as I'm completely foxed or it foxed me.
Similarbaffle, puzzle, stump, perplex, bewilder
Note
8
dog breednouncountable or uncountable
A small, lively breed of dog once used to chase foxes from their dens.
She breeds wire foxes and shows them every spring.
Our terrier is a smooth fox, and he chases every squirrel.
9
broad thinkernouncountable or uncountable
A person who uses many different ideas instead of explaining everything with one big idea.
Like someone who picks fruit from many different trees instead of just one.
He is a fox, happy to borrow ideas from history, science, and art without one big theory.
As a fox, he refused to commit to a single big theory.
Similarpluralist, eclectic
Oppositehedgehog
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10
nounslangfigurativelycountable or uncountable
A person, usually a woman, who has reddish-brown hair.
Similarredhead, ginger
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11
verbarchaictransitive
To make someone drunk or dazed with alcohol.
Similarintoxicate, stupefy, befuddle, inebriate
Oppositesober
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12
swordnounobsoletecountable or uncountable
A sword, named for the fox mark stamped on its blade.
Thou diest on point of fox.
1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”Here, fox means a sword, so you will die on my sword's point.
Note
13
noun
A pilot's radio call announcing that an air-to-air missile has been fired.
14
noun
A hidden radio sender that people try to find as a kind of sport.
15
noun
A small rope strand made by twisting several yarns together, used aboard ships.
16
noun
A small wedge pushed into the split end of a bolt to make it tight.
17
verb
To go sour while fermenting, said of beer or cider, or to make it go sour.
18
verb
To repair boots by adding new leather to the front upper part.
19
noun
A small, flat sea fish of European coasts, also called the common dragonet.
20
noun
The fourteenth card in the Lenormand fortune-telling deck.

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Origin

The word 'fox' comes from Old English 'fox'. It goes back to an old root that may have meant 'the tailed one'.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

The word 'fox' comes from Old English 'fox'. en.wiktionary.org
The word ultimately derives from a reconstructed form that may have meant 'the tailed one'. en.wiktionary.org