Word.ws English Dictionary

fox

UK/fɒks/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/fɔks/

fox noun: any member of the genus Vulpes; a true fox.

fox: any member of the genus Vulpes; a true fox
Image: Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

fox (countable and uncountable, plural foxes or (nonstandard, dialectal) foxen)

  1. Any member of the genus Vulpes; a true fox.
    • A group of foxes is called a skulk.2019 June 6, “A gaggle, a confusion and a conspiracy - bizarre animal collective group names”, in BBC
  2. The red fox, a small carnivore (Vulpes vulpes) with red or silver fur.
    • The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
    • The fox went out on a chase one night, / he prayed to the Moon to give him light, / for he had many a mile to go that night / before he reached the town-o, town-o, town-o. / He had many a mile to go that night / before he reached the town-o.15ᵗʰ century, The Fox, verse 1
  3. Other canines that resemble true foxes, of the genera Cerdocyon, Lycalopex, Otocyon, and Urocyon.
  4. (uncountable) The fur of a fox.
  5. A fox terrier.
  6. (Australia) A flying fox.
    • Their screeches heralded excited talk from the hurrying troops, for flying fox is a delicacy. The densely-foliaged trees hedged a sombre pool, deep and quiet. As the slain foxes dropped into the water the snouts of river crocodiles popped up and devoured them.1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 154
  7. The gemmeous dragonet, a fish, Callionymus lyra, so called from its yellow color.
  8. (figuratively) A cunning person.
    • As for thee, false friend, subtle fox, unfaithful servant, this long time am I grown weary of thee slinking up and down my palace devising darkly things I know not: thou, that art nought akin to Witchland, but an outlander, a Goblin exile, a serpent warmed in my bosom to my hurt.1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 24
  9. (figuratively, slang) A physically attractive person, typically a woman.
    • And Jerry was cute, you know, I liked him, but Frank was a total fox. And he was rougher than Jerry, you know, not so cultured.1993, Laura Antoniou, The Marketplace, page 90
    • It wasn't just that Jayne was a fox – although, fuck, was she ever a fox. That arse, those tits, those lips. They could have a really good time together.2012, Adele Parks, Still Thinking of You
  10. (figuratively, slang) A person with reddish brown hair, typically a woman.
  11. A small strand of rope made by twisting several rope-yarns together. Used for seizings, mats, sennits, and gaskets.
  12. A wedge driven into the split end of a bolt to tighten it.
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  1. A hidden radio transmitter, finding which is the goal of radiosport.
    • Locating a hidden transmitter (the fox) has been a popular ham activity for many years.2006, H. Ward Silver, The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual
  2. The fourteenth Lenormand card.
  3. (obsolete) A sword; so called from the stamp of a fox on the blade, or perhaps of a wolf taken for a fox.
    • Thou diest on point of fox.1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  4. Air-to-air weapon launched.
    • Got a lock! Fox, Fox!2007 September 25, Bungie, Halo 3, Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360, level/area: The Ark
  5. Someone who fuses many different influences and concepts in their philosophy or worldview.
    • Austin was patiently and painstakingly concerned with truth within limitations. He was a hedgehog, not a fox.1970, The Month
    • Dewey was a hedgehog rather than a fox; he spent his life trying to articulate and restate a single vision, and in the writings of his third decade he already exhibits the tension I have claimed to find in the later writings.1992, J. E. Tiles, Jim E. Tiles, John Dewey, Psychology Press, →ISBN, page 220
    Antonyms:
    hedgehog

Verb

fox (third-person singular simple present foxes, present participle foxing, simple past and past participle foxed)

  1. (transitive) To trick, fool or outwit (someone) by cunning or ingenuity.
    • I see a number of gallants every where, whoſe incomes come in yearely by ſet numbers, but runne out daily, ſans number. […] And when I ſee them often foxed, me thinke the Proverbe ſutes thoſe ſutes, what is the fox but his caſe? I ſhould thinke them to be Eutrapelus his enemies, whom he cloathed...1680, Arthur Warwick, Spare-Minutes, or Resolved Meditations and Remediated Resolutions
  2. To sham, to dissemble.
    • He was not foxing. No, no: he was sick really.1916, James Joyce, chapter I, in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, New York, N.Y.: B[enjamin] W. Huebsch, →OCLC
  3. (transitive) To confuse or baffle (someone).
    • This crossword puzzle has completely foxed me.
  4. (intransitive) To act slyly or craftily.
  5. (dated, transitive) To cheat or rob.
    • Have you any news of Miriam? As I have had no reply to my delicately worded epistle, I can only presume that you foxed me with the wrong address, and that you are yourself already engaged to be married to her.Quoted in 2000, John Lewes, Jock Lewes: Co-founder of the SAS (page 132)
  6. (intransitive) To discolour paper. Fox marks are spots on paper caused by humidity. (See foxing.)
    • The pages of the book show distinct foxing.
  7. (transitive) To make sour, as beer, by causing it to ferment.
  8. (intransitive) To turn sour; said of beer, etc., when it sours in fermenting.
  9. (transitive) To intoxicate; to stupefy with drink.
    • I drank […] so much wine that I was almost foxed.1661 October 8 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “September 29th, 1661”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume II...
  10. (transitive) To repair (boots) with new front upper leather, or to piece the upper fronts of.

Noun (2) capitalized: Fox

Fox

  1. (World War II era, joint US/RAF) A radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter F.
    Synonyms:
    Foxtrot

Proper noun capitalized: Fox

Fox (countable and uncountable, plural Foxes or Foxs)

  1. A surname transferred from the common noun derived from the name of the animal.
  2. A male given name.
  3. (US, uncountable) Fox Broadcasting Company, a large television network in the United States.
    • I watched a great show on Fox last night.
    • In some ways, it’s a pragmatic practice: Fox anchors such as Sean Hannity and, at one point, Tucker Carlson routinely attack Milley – and during the Trump years, there was also a reasonable expectation that the president would be talking to the hosts of those shows.2023 September 25, Katie Bo Lillis, Oren Liebermann, Haley Britzky, “Mark Milley leaves a controversial legacy as America’s top general”, in CNN, archived from the original on 10 Feb 2025
  4. A census-designated place in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska.
  5. A river in Wisconsin and Illinois, United States, a tributary to the Illinois River.
  6. An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Stone County, Arkansas.
  7. An unincorporated community in Grant County, Indiana.
  8. An unincorporated community in Estill County, Kentucky.
  9. An unincorporated community in Roseau County, Minnesota.
  10. An unincorporated community in Carbon County, Montana.
  11. An unincorporated community in Pickaway County, Ohio.
  12. An unincorporated community in Carter County, Oklahoma.
Show 5 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. An unincorporated community in Grant County, Oregon.
  2. A number of townships in the United States, listed under Fox Township.
  3. A locality in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia, Australia.
  4. (abbreviation, ellipsis) Ellipsis of Fox Tribe.
  5. (abbreviation, ellipsis) Ellipsis of Fox language.

Noun (3) capitalized: Fox

Fox (plural Foxes)

  1. Someone connected with Leicester City Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.
    • The Foxes played with plenty of initiative in the original tie at the Walkers Stadium and they started this tie in impressively positive fashion, producing the game's first two chances: Andy King's goal-bound half-volley from Steve Howard's header down was tipped over by Joe Hart and Sol Bamba...2011 January 18, Phil Dawkes, “Man City 4 - 2 Leicester”, in BBC
  2. (abbreviation, dated, ellipsis) Ellipsis of Fox Indian (“a member of the Outagamie or Meskwaki, a Native American people”).

Noun (4) capitalized: FOX

FOX (uncountable)

  1. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of forkhead box protein.

fox meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

fox in Hindi

Vulpes
लोमड़ी lomṛī

fox in Tamil

Vulpes
நரி nari
cunning person
குள்ளநரி kuḷḷanari

fox in Marathi

Vulpes
कोल्हा kolhā

fox in Urdu

Vulpes
لومْڑی lomṛī
More languagesFewer languages
fox in Bengali
শিয়াল śiẏal, খেঁকশিয়াল khẽkśiẏal
fox in Telugu
నక్క nakka, జిత్తులమారి jittulamāri
fox in Malayalam
കുറുക്കൻ kuṟukkaṉ
fox in Kannada
ನರಿ nari
fox in Punjabi
ਲੂੰਬੜੀ lūmbṛī
fox in Gujarati
શિયાળ
fox in Odia
ଶିଯ଼ାଲ
fox in Sanskrit
लोपाश lopāśá
fox in Sinhala
හිවලා hiwalā, නරියා nariyā
fox in Assamese
শিয়াল xial
fox in Nepali
लोमडी, फोक्स
fox in Pashto
ترودۍ tródǝ́y, تروری troráy, تروړۍ troṛǝy
fox in Tagalog
soro
fox in Arabic
ثَعْلَب ṯaʕlab, تعلب taʕlab, ثعلب ṯaʕlab
fox in Malay
rubah, musang
fox in Indonesian
rubah
fox in Persian
روباه rubâh, روبَه ruba, فَریبْکار faribkâr, نِیْرَنْگْباز neyrangbâz
fox in Thai
จิ้งจอก jîng-jɔ̀ɔk
fox in Vietnamese
cáo
fox in Myanmar
မြေခွေး mrehkwe:
Kashmiri
لوو lōv

Examples of fox in a sentence

  • They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely.1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], “The First Gun”, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 1:
  • It was earliest morning, when even small trees cast long shadows and scarlet foxes trot denward through the dew like flecks of fire.1987, Gene Wolfe, chapter XXVIII, in The Urth of the New Sun, 1st US edition, New York: Tor Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 164:

All 40 example sentences with fox

Synonyms of fox

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of fox

Forms of fox

Noun
pluralfoxes
pluralFoxes
plural (nonstandard, dialectal)foxen
alternative form (obsolete)foxe
Verb
third-person singular presentfoxes
present participlefoxing
past participlefoxed
pastfoxed
Proper noun
pluralFoxes
pluralFoxs

Plural of fox: foxes

Origin of fox

From Middle English fox, from Old English fox (“fox”), from Proto-West Germanic *fuhs, from Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz (“fox”), from Proto-Indo-European *púḱsos (“the tailed one”), possibly from *puḱ- (“tail”). Cognates Cognate with Yola vox, voxe (“fox”), North Frisian foos (“fox”), Saterland Frisian Foaks (“fox”), West Frisian foks (“fox”), Alemannic German Fuchs, Fugs, fuksch, fuks, fòcks, vucks (“fox”), Bavarian Fuchs, vucs, vuks (“fox”), Central Franconian Fuss (“fox”), Cimbrian buks, vuks (“fox”), Dutch vos (“fox”), German Fuchs (“fox”), Low German Voss (“fox”), Luxembourgish Fuuss (“fox”), Vilamovian füks (“fox”), Yiddish פֿוקס (fuks, “fox”), Norn fúa (“she-fox”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐌷𐍉 (fauhō, “fox”); also Bulgarian, Russian, and Ukrainian пух (pux, “down, fluff”), Polish puch (“down, fluff; snow”), Sanskrit पुच्छ (púccha, “tail; hind-part”) (whence Bengali পুচ্ছ (puccho, “tail”), Hindi पूँछ (pū̃ch), पूंछ (pūñch, “tail; rear of an object”), Pali puccha (“tail”), Punjabi ਪੂਛ (pūch, “tail”)). Philosophical sense from the 1953 essay The Hedgehog and the Fox by Isaiah Berlin. Military aviation sense from the pre-NATO military spelling alphabet where Fox represented F and was short for 'to...

* (surname): From fox (“a vulpine animal”)

Words formed from fox

Phrases with fox

132 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with fox

23 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about fox

What does fox mean?
Fox means any member of the genus Vulpes; a true fox.
What is fox in Hindi?
Fox in Hindi is लोमड़ी (lomṛī). See Fox meaning in Hindi.
How do you use fox in a sentence?
They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely.
What part of speech is fox?
Fox can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce fox?
Fox is pronounced /fɒks/ (UK).
What is the plural of fox?
The plural of fox is foxes.

Words near fox in the dictionary

  1. Fowneses
  2. Fownhope
  3. fowrah
  4. fowrahs
  5. Fowski
  6. fox
  7. fox and geese
  8. fox bat
  9. fox bats
  10. fox bolt
  11. fox bolts

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: fox (page history and authors); Fox (page history and authors); FOX (page history and authors); fox (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fox (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); fox (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-fox.ogg.

Cite this entry: “fox.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fox. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.