ruse
noun
a trick, stratagem, or artifice.
ruse
1 American
[rooz]
/ ruz /
noun
ruses
plural
Ruse
2
American
[roo-sey]
/ ˈru seɪ /
noun
Ruse
1
British
/ ˈruːseɪ /
noun
ruse
2
British
/ ruːz /
noun
Synonym Usage
See trick.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
But she’s also drawing our attention to the whole ruse here.
From Slate • Jun. 3, 2026
And, of course, there was the alibi – the six-hour YouTube gaming 'live stream' broadcast the night before Natalie was found dead, that turned out to be a pre-recorded ruse.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026
The obvious answer to this question would be that, were the “Jury Duty” creators to repeat the courtroom premise, their “hero” would be far more likely to clock the ruse.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026
Markets will make wrong reads, fall for a ruse or bad news that turns out to be not so bad after all.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026
"I regret my little ruse, Lord Petyr, but when we spoke, I could not know the Domishmen would accept my offer."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
