stalking horse
noun
a horse, or a figure of a horse, behind which a hunter hides in stalking game.
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stalking horse
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stalking-horse
stalking-horsenouna horse or an imitation one used by a hunter to hide behind while stalking his quarry
stalking horse
American
[staw-king hawrs]
/ ˈstɔ kɪŋ ˌhɔrs /
stalking-horse
noun
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a horse, or a figure of a horse, behind which a hunter hides in stalking game.
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anything put forward to mask plans or efforts; pretext.
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a political candidate used to conceal the candidacy of a more important figure or to draw votes from and cause the defeat of a rival.
stalking-horse
British
noun
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a horse or an imitation one used by a hunter to hide behind while stalking his quarry
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something serving as a means of concealing plans; pretext
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a candidate put forward by one group to divide the opposition or mask the candidacy of another person for whom the stalking-horse would then withdraw
Etymology
Origin of stalking horse
First recorded in 1510–20
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:
Now the Antichrist may be a stalking horse for a different question: what it means, in some genetically stable sense, to be human.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
A Labour source said: "I've heard of a stalking horse, but this guy is going to get hoarse from his endless stalking."
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2025
Journalism is not a speed horse but more of a stalking horse that doesn’t go to the lead, leaving a lot of run left when he hits the homestretch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2025
"This is not a stalking horse for rate regulation. Nope. No how, no way," the chair said in October.
From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2024
In short, the Quaker petition for an end of the slave trade was really a stalking horse for a more radical and thoroughgoing scheme to end the institution of slavery itself.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
If a sale process for Joann is approved, Gordon Brothers Retail Partners would serve as the stalking-horse bidder and set the floor for the auction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2025
But when it came to pressuring politicians and other groups to jump-start arena plans, he couldn’t have been better placed had the NHL been paying him as a stalking-horse consultant all along.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 3, 2018
The Weinstein Company - which was co-founded by Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob in 2005 - also announced a "stalking-horse" agreement with Lantern Capital Partners private equity firm.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2018
Such an offer is known as a stalking-horse bid, meant to set a floor in a court-supervised auction.
From New York Times ● Jun. 10, 2016
The animals he kept, instead of being safe running horses for him, generally made him a safe stalking-horse for others.
From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 17, No. 483, April 2, 1831 by Various
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.
