ploy

noun

ˈplȯi 

1

: escapade, frolic

2

a

: a tactic intended to embarrass or frustrate an opponent

b

: a devised or contrived move : stratagem

a ploy to get her to open the door

—Robert B. Parker

Synonyms

• artifice
• device
• dodge
• fetch
• flimflam
• gambit
• gimmick
• jig
• juggle
• knack
• play
• ruse
• scheme
• shenanigan
• sleight
• stratagem
• trick
• wile

Examples of ploy in a Sentence

Her story about being sick is only a ploy to get you to give her money.

asking me to take her shopping turned out to be a ploy to get me to the surprise party

Recent Examples on the Web

Would be cool to see trump call them out on their obvious ploy. —Gord Magill, Newsweek, 22 Dec. 2024

Sad to say, each of these phobias have been exploited by corporate and government interests to cut down forests in a cynical ploy to tame wild nature. —Josh Schlossberg, The Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2024

The Republican Party and Trump himself have spent the past several years pushing an increasingly anti-trans agenda, in what some experts have described as an ongoing ploy to lock up the evangelical vote. —Samantha Riedel, Them, 13 Dec. 2024

Negotiating ploy Due to the risks associated with the Barnier government’s downfall, some believe the vote of no-confidence is a last-minute negotiating ploy by the government’s political opponents. —Ganesh Rao, CNBC, 3 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably from employ

First Known Use

1697, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing ploy

• counter-ploy
• marketing ploy

Kids Definition

ploy

noun

ˈplȯi 

: a trick designed to embarrass or upset an opponent