ploy
Americannoun
-
ploys
plural
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a manoeuvre or tactic in a game, conversation, etc; stratagem; gambit
-
any business, job, hobby, etc, with which one is occupied
angling is his latest ploy
-
a frolic, escapade, or practical joke
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of ploy
1475–85; earlier ploye to bend < Middle French ployer ( French plier ) < Latin plicāre to fold, ply 2; see deploy
Explanation
A ploy is a clever plan that helps you get what you want. A manipulative little girl might shed tears simply as a ploy to get her mother to buy her ice cream. A politician might add amendments to a bill as a ploy to delay voting, or a hooligan might yell, "Fire!" in a movie theater as a ploy to sneak his friends in. A sneaky move in a game is a ploy, and sensational news about a celebrity can be just a ploy to get him more media attention. The first recorded use of ploy was in 1722, meaning "anything with which one amuses oneself" in Scottish and Northern English dialects.
Vocabulary lists containing ploy
Into the Wild
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The Last Olympian
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Norse Mythology
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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.
See Examples For:
In an opinion essay Sunday, a trio of 1st Amendment and antitrust experts dismissed Paramount’s threat to leave Los Angeles as a ploy that doesn’t make business sense.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
But one thing is clear: The ploy was designed to trick.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Then again, the ploy worked for only a little while.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
New Zealand are the latest opponents to pressure Root - and Harry Brook - with the wicketkeeper standing up to the stumps to seamers and the ploy worked again.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Whether his kindness had been a ploy, a plot, or whether it had been sincere, the effect was the same.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
But if you’re older and your baseline anxiety and stress level is already high, you’re more apt to react emotionally to fraudsters’ ploys.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
These ploys can be convincing because they involve a lot of genuine information and avoid many of the red flags we’re used to looking for.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
In one group, his ploys were so successful that he became the militia’s top commander in the state of Utah.
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2025
Their safety measures — encampment barricades and self-manned medical tents — are seen as ploys for attention.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2024
Those ploys proved as effective as hanging a Do Not Disturb sign around his neck.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
