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strategy

[strat-i-jee]
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noun, plural strat·e·gies.
  1. Also strategics. the science or art of combining and employing the means of war in planning and directing large military movements and operations.
  2. the use or an instance of using this science or art.
  3. skillful use of a stratagem: The salesperson's strategy was to seem always to agree with the customer.
  4. a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result: a strategy for getting ahead in the world.
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Origin of strategy

1680–90; < Greek stratēgía generalship, equivalent to stratēg(ós) military commander, general (strat(ós) army + -ēgos noun derivative of ágein to lead) + -ia -y3
Related formscoun·ter·strat·e·gy, noun, plural coun·ter·strat·e·gies.
Can be confusedstratagem strategystrategy tactics (see synonym study at the current entry)

Synonym study

1. In military usage, a distinction is made between strategy and tactics. Strategy is the utilization, during both peace and war, of all of a nation's forces, through large-scale, long-range planning and development, to ensure security or victory. Tactics deals with the use and deployment of troops in actual combat.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for strategies

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • What strategies she had had to employ to escape from the house!

    Cursed

    George Allan England

  • It is a conflict of principles, it is also a conflict of strategies.

    The Wonder of War on Land

    Francis Rolt-Wheeler

  • These are but a few of the strategies which engage the study of the tackle.

  • And you achieved unusual wealth chiefly by the powers and strategies of your character.

    I, Mary MacLane

    Mary MacLane

  • Although he disclaims expert knowledge of strategies, he is at least uncommonly well qualified to appraise the things he saw.

British Dictionary definitions for strategies

strategy

noun plural -gies
  1. the art or science of the planning and conduct of a war; generalship
  2. a particular long-term plan for success, esp in business or politicsCompare tactics (def. 2)
  3. a plan or stratagem
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Word Origin

C17: from French stratégie, from Greek stratēgia function of a general; see stratagem
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for strategies

strategy

n.

1810, "art of a general," from French stratégie, from Greek strategia "office or command of a general," from strategos "general," from stratos "multitude, army, expedition," literally "that which is spread out" (see structure (n.)) + agos "leader," from agein "to lead" (see act (n.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper