ploy

[ploi]

noun

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

   Synonyms: gambit, wile, subterfuge, ruse, tactic

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• counterploy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ploy¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of ploy¹

C18: originally Scot and northern English, perhaps from obsolete n sense of _employ meaning an occupation

Example Sentences

This tariff-dividend ploy suffers from fanciful math, shoddy economics and — not least — considerable legal obstacles.

Read more on MarketWatch

India's ploy to have a turning pitch at Eden Gardens has met with severe criticism from pundits after the hosts faltered badly in their chase.

Read more on Barron's

But even he seems unsure such a ploy will work.

Read more on Salon

But Caracas claims it is really a ploy to overthrow its leftist president Maduro, who the United States considers an illegitimate leader and a drug lord -- a charge that he denies.

Read more on Barron's

It is a ploy he can carry out with comfort, potentially giving Tuchel's strategy an extra dimension.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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