ploy
[ploi]
- a maneuver or stratagem, as in conversation, to gain the advantage.
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- Military Archaic. to move (troops) from a line into a column.Compare deploy.
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- Military Archaic. to move from a line into a column.
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Origin of ploy
Synonyms
See more synonyms for ploy on Thesaurus.com1. tactic, ruse, subterfuge, wile, gambit.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ployed
Historical Examples
Page 434: 'enployed' corrected to 'employed': "known to nearly all pottery-making peoples—were frequently employed."
Ancient Pottery of the Mississippi ValleyWilliam H. Holmes
He retired, and ployed into brigade columns by regiments, immediately beyond the crest of Fairview hill.
The Campaign of ChancellorsvilleTheodore A. Dodge
ploy
- a manoeuvre or tactic in a game, conversation, etc; stratagem; gambit
- any business, job, hobby, etc, with which one is occupiedangling is his latest ploy
- mainly British a frolic, escapade, or practical joke
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Word Origin
C18: originally Scot and northern English, perhaps from obsolete n sense of employ meaning an occupation
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for ployed
ploy
n.
1722, "anything with which one amuses oneself," Scottish and northern England dialect, possibly a shortened form of employ or deploy. Popularized in the sense "move or gambit made to gain advantage" by British humorist Stephen Potter (1900-1969).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper