gambit

[ gam-bit ]

noun

1. Chess. an opening in which a player seeks to obtain some advantage by sacrificing a pawn or piece.
2. any maneuver by which one seeks to gain an advantage.

   Synonyms: ruse, scheme, stratagem, ploy

3. a remark made to open or redirect a conversation.

gambit

/ ˈɡæmbɪt /

noun

1. chess an opening move in which a chessman, usually a pawn, is sacrificed to secure an advantageous position
2. an opening comment, manoeuvre, etc, intended to secure an advantage or promote a point of view

Word History and Origins

Origin of gambit¹

1650–60; < French < Spanish gambito or Italian gambetto (akin to Old French gambet, jambet ), equivalent to gamb ( a ) leg + -etta -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of gambit¹

C17: from French, from Italian gambetto a tripping up, from gamba leg

Example Sentences

Regular visitors to local art spaces will recognize some artists’ familiar gambits in new editions.

From Washington Post

It’s a calculated gambit, primed to prod advertisers into thinking they’re missing out on the next big thing in social media.

From Digiday

Charles Schwab’s namesake brokerage, which slashed brokerage commissions in the 1970s, had a similar marketing gambit.

From Quartz

I guess Falwell folded on that gambit when he realized, as I’ve said here many a time, video is forever.

From Ozy

As publishers look for pockets of audience engagement wherever they can find them, limited-run educational newsletters are a gambit gaining some traction.

From Digiday

This gambit means Aereo is avoiding paying anything to broadcasters or the middlemen it is replacing.

From The Daily Beast

For these other news organizations, their hunt for the ex-prisoners was a multi-thousand dollar high-risk gambit.

From The Daily Beast

How did you arrive at him as your Gambit, and why did you decide to move away from Taylor Kitsch?

From The Daily Beast

Jensen is in a different political place than Grimes, and her more aggressive stance may indeed be a savvy strategic gambit.

From The Daily Beast

One gambit is to require photo identification, a reasonable-sounding provision that 34 states have now adopted.

From The Daily Beast

Whatever kind of gambit is being played here, it is bigger than any of its parts or pieces.

From Project Gutenberg

When the rolling was very bad, Mrs. Gambit clutched me with one hand and her right hand neighbour with the other.

From Project Gutenberg

Nor could I understand why Mrs. Gambit spoke scornfully of this act of kindness, which was entirely unexpected by me.

From Project Gutenberg

Supper ended, Mr. Gambit lit a pipe of tobacco and began to smoke, begging me not to mind him.

From Project Gutenberg

When he had finished, Mrs. Gambit dropped her chin and returned to practical business.

From Project Gutenberg