ruse
noun
a trick, stratagem, or artifice.
ruse
1 American
[rooz]
/ ruz /
noun
Ruse
2
American
[roo-sey]
/ ˈru seɪ /
noun
Ruse
1
British
/ ˈruːseɪ /
noun
ruse
2
British
/ ruːz /
noun
Synonym Usage
See trick.
Etymology
Origin of ruse
1375–1425; late Middle English (noun use of obsolete rusen to detour) < Middle French, derivative of ruser to retreat. See rush 1
Explanation
Movie bank robbers always seem to pull some kind of ruse, a deceptive trick or tactic like hiding the money underneath the bank while they drive off in the getaway car to avoid capture by the police. You'd use a ruse if you were up to something sneaky and were trying to get away with it without being discovered. The wife planning a surprise birthday party for her husband could send him out to the supermarket as a ruse, a trick so she could sneak one hundred of his closest friends into the house without him noticing.
Vocabulary lists containing ruse
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Diary of a Young Girl
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The Hunger Games
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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.
Thaksin was jailed last September, after the Supreme Court ruled that the six months he spent in a police hospital after his return to Thailand had been a ruse to avoid serving his sentence.
From BBC • May 10, 2026
Two of the companies fell for the ruse, officials said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026
Markets will make wrong reads, fall for a ruse or bad news that turns out to be not so bad after all.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026
Viewers immediately saw through the ruse, recognizing that Ring’s web of surveillance could absolutely be used to watch almost everyone, almost everywhere, whether or not they’ve done something illegal.
From Salon • Feb. 20, 2026
Koffi knew better than to believe the ruse.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
