ploy

American  

[ploi] / plɔɪ /

noun

1. a maneuver or stratagem, as in conversation, to gain the advantage.

   Synonyms:

   gambit, wile, subterfuge, ruse, tactic

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verb (used with object)

1. Military Archaic. to move (troops) from a line into a column.

verb (used without object)

1. Military Archaic. to move from a line into a column.

ploy British  

/ plɔɪ /

noun

1. a manoeuvre or tactic in a game, conversation, etc; stratagem; gambit

2. any business, job, hobby, etc, with which one is occupied

   angling is his latest ploy

3. a frolic, escapade, or practical joke

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Other Word Forms

• counterploy noun

Etymology

Origin of ploy

1475–85; earlier ploye to bend < Middle French ployer ( French plier ) < Latin plicāre to fold, ply ²; deploy

Example Sentences

Edwards, unsure whether this represented a genuine break between the two men or a ploy by Epstein, told the Journal he alerted his law partner, Stan Pottinger.

From The Wall Street Journal

Their poverty, the fruit of Salieri’s malicious ploys, tests the limits of their endurance.

From Los Angeles Times

A ploy to ensure he’d be positively exhausted when we boarded the ship and entered our cabin.

From Literature

As it turns out, that was exactly what made “One Mike” such a useful ploy.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the author said her cancer update "wasn't a ploy to get sympathy-sales for release day".

From BBC

Related Words

• device
• maneuver
• ruse
• scheme
• stratagem
• subterfuge
• tactic