ploy
Americannoun
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:
Then again, the ploy worked for only a little while.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
He warned the White House that the whole ploy wouldn’t work: Small-business owners wouldn’t voluntarily forgo price increases because their margins were too thin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Gakpo's game descended into predictability in Liverpool's struggles last season, too often resorting to simply cutting inside, a ploy easily detected by opponents as his form faded.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
That ploy, initiated in 2022 by former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, was criticized then by now–U.S.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
A ploy to ensure he’d be positively exhausted when we boarded the ship and entered our cabin.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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, writes Callum Borchers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
Their poverty, the fruit of Salieri’s malicious ploys, tests the limits of their endurance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
That stunt is also one of TV’s grandest examples of why such ploys can backfire.
From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2025
Francis always denounced such ploys, saying that Communion was not a reward for perfect behavior but a kind of spiritual nourishment for everyone, including sinners.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2025
Those ploys proved as effective as hanging a Do Not Disturb sign around his neck.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Definitions 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.
