Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

psych out

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.48 in modern English

Syllables
psy-ch out
IPA
18
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To outsmart.

Informal; Transitive verb

verb

To unnerve.

Informal; Transitive verb

noun

The act of unnerving somebody.

Informal

Etymology

Recorded since 1934 (in sense of "outsmart"); from psych (short for psychology) + out.

Usage

Inflected Forms

psychs out (present, singular) psyching out (participle, present) psyched out (participle, past) psyched out (past) psych outs (plural)

Questions

What does psych out mean?
To outsmart.
Where does psych out come from?
Recorded since 1934 (in sense of "outsmart"); from psych (short for psychology) + out.

How to pronounce psych out

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “psych out”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “psych out”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “psych out” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.