strategy
Americannoun
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strategies
plural
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Also strategics. the science or art of combining and employing the means of war in planning and directing large military movements and operations.
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the use or an instance of using this science or art.
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skillful use of a stratagem.
The salesperson's strategy was to seem always to agree with the customer.
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a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result.
a strategy for getting ahead in the world.
noun
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the art or science of the planning and conduct of a war; generalship
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a particular long-term plan for success, esp in business or politics Compare tactics
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a plan or stratagem
Usage
What is strategy? A strategy is a plan or method put in place to achieve a goal or result, as in Blanca’s strategy for passing the test was to study every night until test day. Strategy can refer to the use of tactics in the planning of military operations, usually to succeed in a battle or war. In a military context, a strategy can refer to an overall plan, a specific or broad goal, or the execution of said plan or goal. Strategy can also refer to the use of a strategy to meet a goal, as in The only way to win a war is with a solid strategy. Example: Their strategy was to distract the enemy and then sneak in from behind.
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of strategy
First recorded in 1680–90; from Greek stratēgía “generalship,” equivalent to stratēg(os) “military commander, general” ( strat(ós) “army” + -ēgos, noun derivative of ágein “to lead”) + -ia -y 3
Explanation
In the game of capture-the-flag, running toward your flag screaming is not a good strategy. A strategy is any plan you make to achieve a goal. The word strategy was developed to describe plans people made for war, and strategies often rely on certain chief assets––the British strategy for world domination relied on its naval superiority, our strategy for this game relies on the other team's poor level of fitness. After they're exhausted, we go for the goal.
Vocabulary lists containing strategy
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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List 4
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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:
Only one needs to develop into a Premier League regular for the strategy to potentially generate significant value.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
With extreme weather events becoming increasingly frequent as a result of climate change, the Netherlands will have to rethink a strategy that has until now been "waterproof."
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
In his weekly “Flow Show” strategy note published Friday, Hartnett calculates that the cost of servicing the interest on that debt has reached $1.5 trillion yearly.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Acquired’s full episodes on the history and strategy of The Walt Disney Co. are available now in Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any podcast player.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
It was the weak point of Nixon’s Vietnamization strategy.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Two strategies are in play, but they’ve got different — but close — age requirements that lead to common errors I see.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
The AI revolution has transformed Reddit from an afterthought in many marketers’ digital strategies to their social-media site du jour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
"Now that we know that these immune cells actually can get into the brain, we can think about all kinds of new engineering strategies to have those peripheral immune cells do useful things."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
These strategies can help boost near-term demand and give customers more purchasing power than they could achieve alone.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
You’re a little ball of soft meat with no shell or escape skills or battle strategies.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
