strategy

[ strat-i-jee ]

See synonyms for strategy on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural strat·e·gies.

Also strategics. the science or art of combining and employing the means of war in planning and directing large military movements and operations.
the use or an instance of using this science or art.

skillful use of a stratagem: The salesperson's strategy was to seem always to agree with the customer.
a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result: a strategy for getting ahead in the world.

Origin of strategy

First recorded in 1680–90; from Greek stratēgía “generalship,” equivalent to stratēg(os) “military commander, general” (strat(ós) “army” + -ēgos, noun derivative of ágein “to lead”) + -ia -y³

synonym study For strategy

1. In military usage, a distinction is made between strategy and tactics. Strategy is the utilization, during both peace and war, of all of a nation's forces, through large-scale, long-range planning and development, to ensure security or victory. Tactics deals with the use and deployment of troops in actual combat.

Other words from strategy

coun·ter·strat·e·gy, noun, plural coun·ter·strat·e·gies.

Words that may be confused with strategy

1. stratagem, strategy
2. strategy , tactics (see synonym study at the current entry)

Words Nearby strategy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use strategy in a sentence

That strategy has been used in some cases to help determine GMO policy.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers | Michael Schulson | July 27, 2016 | THE DAILY BEAST
It is also important to avoid using the pope as part of a marketing strategy.
Pope Francis Has the Pleasure of Meeting Angelina Jolie for a Few Seconds | Barbie Latza Nadeau | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Take the chief metric of the war in Vietnam—body counts, which ultimately did not answer whether the strategy was working.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War | Nancy A. Youssef | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Offending the other ones has been a central strategy for Paul over the last year.
Rand Paul’s Passive-Aggressive Trolling Campaign | Olivia Nuzzi | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Those who have watched anti-gay groups closely suggest that there will be two major strategic shifts in their strategy.
‘Only God’ Can Stop Gay Marriage | Tim Mak | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST

He had no conception of the use of the other arms of the service, and never gained even the most elementary knowledge of strategy.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
The firm foundation that Scattergood's strategy rested upon was that lumbering had not really started in the valley.
Scattergood Baines | Clarence Budington Kelland
Nor did they advance beyond Wallace in the still more important principles of large strategy.
King Robert the Bruce | A. F. Murison
It was recovered by Cerizet by means of a strategy worthy of a Scapin.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
"You may put strategy out of the definition, leaving in the woman," she continued ironically.
When Valmond Came to Pontiac, Complete | Gilbert Parker

British Dictionary definitions for strategy

strategy

/ (ˈstrætɪdʒɪ) /

nounplural -gies

the art or science of the planning and conduct of a war; generalship
a particular long-term plan for success, esp in business or politics: Compare tactics (def. 2)

a plan or stratagem

Origin of strategy

C17: from French stratégie, from Greek stratēgia function of a general; see stratagem

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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