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Showing results for gimmick. Search instead for gimmicker.
Synonyms

gimmick

American  
[gim-ik] / ˈgɪm ɪk /

noun

  1. an ingenious or novel device, scheme, or stratagem, especially one designed to attract attention or increase appeal.

    Synonyms:
    angle, ploy, ruse, plan, stunt

  2. a concealed, usually devious aspect or feature of something, as a plan or deal.

    An offer that good must have a gimmick in it somewhere.

  3. a hidden mechanical device by which a magician works a trick or a gambler controls a game of chance.

  4. Electronics Informal. a capacitor formed by intertwining two insulated wires.

verb (used with object)

  1. to equip or embellish with unnecessary features, especially in order to increase salability, acceptance, etc. (often followed byup ).

    to gimmick up a sports car with chrome and racing stripes.

verb (used without object)

  1. to resort to gimmickry, especially habitually.

gimmick British  
/ ˈɡɪmɪk /

noun

  1. something designed to attract extra attention, interest, or publicity

  2. any clever device, gadget, or stratagem, esp one used to deceive

  3. a device or trick of legerdemain that enables a magician to deceive the audience

"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

Other Word Forms

  • gimmicker noun
  • gimmickry noun
  • gimmicky adjective
  • ungimmicky adjective

Etymology

Origin of gimmick

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30; origin uncertain

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 serious kudos to Kalshi for this marketing gimmick.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 18, 2026

Perhaps the only gimmick is the 'rope-a-dope' mind games.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026

"It's not just a gimmick, he buys into what the club means and what it means to the wider city," Swansea chief executive Tom Gorringe told BBC Wales.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

The only effective counter-programming gimmick against the Super Bowl halftime show came in 1992.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026

Every business needed a gimmick, I suppose, and hers clearly worked if she could afford a pad like this.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

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.