a horse, or a figure of a horse, behind which a hunter hides in stalking game.
anything put forward to mask plans or efforts; pretext.
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.
a horse or an imitation one used by a hunter to hide behind while stalking his quarry
something serving as a means of concealing plans; pretext
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
First recorded in 1510–20
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
It does not have an initial offer in hand, known in bankruptcy parlance as a stalking-horse bidder, which sets a minimum price other suitors can top in an auction.
From Reuters ● Jun. 27, 2023
Originally rumored to be the first, or so-called stalking-horse, bidder, Mr. Ben-Avraham said that he had decided to wait until he had all his financing in place.
From New York Times ● Oct. 15, 2019
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 stalking-horse was, no doubt, the earliest decoy or shield under which the ancient fowler got near his birds with the crossbow or gun.
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.
