as in ruse
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
I couldn't tell whether her earlier poor-mouthing had been sincere or just a gambit to get me to pick up the dinner check
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Recent Examples of gambit
For their generation, the failure of the military gambits of the German Communists after the First World War had spelled out the idea that revolution in Western Europe was not an immediate, or even near, prospect.
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Thomas Meaney, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
The programming gambit should, at the very least, draw younger crowds to NFL play.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 22 Nov. 2024
The gambit, which took months for the agency to even attempt thanks to the internal struggle for resources, had been designed to push teetering Venezuelan military officials to the Guaidó camp.
—Zach Dorfman, WIRED, 31 Oct. 2024
While taking the kids away from their usual trick-or-treating adventures can be a bit of a hard gambit, the episode is overall an entertaining venture for the series and a nice way to shake up the usual plots after nearly a decade of Halloween episodes.
—Lillian Brown, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gambit 
Thomas Meaney, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
The programming gambit should, at the very least, draw younger crowds to NFL play.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 22 Nov. 2024
The gambit, which took months for the agency to even attempt thanks to the internal struggle for resources, had been designed to push teetering Venezuelan military officials to the Guaidó camp.
—Zach Dorfman, WIRED, 31 Oct. 2024
While taking the kids away from their usual trick-or-treating adventures can be a bit of a hard gambit, the episode is overall an entertaining venture for the series and a nice way to shake up the usual plots after nearly a decade of Halloween episodes.
—Lillian Brown, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gambit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gambit
Noun
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His repetitive claim of being open and transparent is a ruse.Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 23 Dec. 2024
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Still, even if his insanity plea is a ruse or even a supremely deadpan joke, this CIA isn't going to make its way onto anyone's list of best companies to work for.Tom Gliatto, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Additionally, texts and calls from other people who interacted with the Salt Typhoon targets were inherently also caught up in the espionage scheme.Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, 26 Dec. 2024
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They have also been used to create deepfake images or videos of famous people promoting investment schemes and non-existent or counterfeit products.Audrey Nguyen, NPR, 24 Dec. 2024
Noun
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As for the pineapple addition to the drink, eating the fruit is another common, nonmedical trick that people suggest for getting labor started (some people also swear by it when trying to conceive).Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 18 Dec. 2024
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The gods prove cruel but not omnipotent, and the modern settings exert their own redemptive pull; the final effect is that of a magic trick, in which the characters manage, in each film’s miraculous closing moments, to slip the bonds of tragedy.Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near gambit
Cite this Entry
“Gambit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gambit. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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