A little fox engages much bigger animals (4)

I believe the answer is:

oxen

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'bigger animals' is the definition.
'oxen' can be an answer for 'animals' (I've seen this before). I'm not sure about the 'bigger' bit.

'a little fox engages much' is the wordplay.
'a little' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (a little bit of the clue).
'OXEN' is hidden in the letters of 'fox engages much'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for oxen that I've seen before include "Large bovine animals" , "Neat types" , "Steers" , "Bulls, buffaloes, etc" , "Bovine creatures" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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