ruse
noun
a trick, stratagem, or artifice.
ruse
1 American
[rooz]
/ ruz /
noun
Ruse
2
American
[roo-sey]
/ ˈru seɪ /
noun
Ruse
1
British
/ ˈruːseɪ /
noun
ruse
2
British
/ ruːz /
noun
Synonym Usage
See trick.
Etymology
Origin of ruse
1375–1425; late Middle English (noun use of obsolete rusen to detour) < Middle French, derivative of ruser to retreat. See rush 1
Explanation
Movie bank robbers always seem to pull some kind of ruse, a deceptive trick or tactic like hiding the money underneath the bank while they drive off in the getaway car to avoid capture by the police. You'd use a ruse if you were up to something sneaky and were trying to get away with it without being discovered. The wife planning a surprise birthday party for her husband could send him out to the supermarket as a ruse, a trick so she could sneak one hundred of his closest friends into the house without him noticing.
Vocabulary lists containing ruse
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Diary of a Young Girl
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The Hunger Games
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Boulter, 29, went down 7-6 7-6 on clay to world number 87 Ruse, who will now face Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska or American Ann Li in the last 16.
From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026
Reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys plays second on the court as the American faces Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania.
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2025
“If you look at them now, it's a good mix. You have technical people, you have financial people, you have people with skills in turn around,” says energy analyst Ruse Moleshe.
From BBC • Aug. 6, 2024
For instance, at Ruse in St. Michael, MD, executive chef Michael Correll is serving Matcha green tea soft serve with Oreo crumbs and raspberry.
From Salon • May 16, 2024
Ruse A carefully disguised thought as transparent as a soap-bubble.
From The Sunny Side of Diplomatic Life, 1875-1912 by Hegermann-Lindencrone, L. de (Lillie de)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
