gimmick

American  

[gim-ik] / ˈgɪm ɪk /

noun

• gimmicks
  plural

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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gimmicks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gimmick

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30; origin uncertain

Explanation

A gimmick is a trick intended to attract attention. If you lure crowds to your bake sale by having popular football players handing out samples in front of your booth, that’s a gimmick. A gimmick is often used by businesses to sell a product. As a sales gimmick, your local bank might offer free microwave ovens to people who open new savings accounts. A TV show may air a live episode as a gimmick to get people to watch the show. The word sometimes has a slightly negative connotation — there’s often some flashy trickery involved in a gimmick and it doesn’t always add value to what’s being sold.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gimmick gimmicks

First erected in the early 1960s as an advertising gimmick, these giants are rising again thanks to preservationists, kitsch aficionados and savvy entrepreneurs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

“I thought Infinity Vision was going to be a rebrand of premium theaters as a marketing gimmick since Disney can’t have any Imax screens,” Haeffele said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

Addressing staff, he said it would be the "nerve centre for a rewired Britain" and not a "short-lived gimmick".

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

He added that he also backed Burnham's plan to create a Downing Street unit in Manchester, adding he did not think the idea was just a "gimmick".

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

And it does not matter what the gimmick is.

From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin

“They’re gimmicks, and the Supreme Court is not usually impressed by gimmicks.”

From Salon ● May 28, 2026

It is not simply cumbia, reggaeton, alt-pop, or urbano; it carries a shoegazing moodiness, an emotional fog that makes the genre switches feel less like gimmicks and more like memories changing shape.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026

Given the choice between making money from genuine usefulness or gimmicks, most new ones resort to the latter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

“No gimmicks — just smart repositioning of assets that creates a lot of flexibility going forward,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 23, 2025

Reilly must have smuggled the pirate gimmicks out of the garage the afternoon before.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Related Words

• artifice
• device
• fun
• gadget
• gizmo
• instrument
• maneuver
• method
• ploy
• ruse
• stratagem
• stunt
• trick