tactic
[tak-tik]
- tactics(def 1).
- a system or a detail of tactics.
- a plan, procedure, or expedient for promoting a desired end or result.
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- of or relating to arrangement or order; tactical.
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Origin of tactic
1560–70; New Latin tacticus < Greek taktikós “fit for arranging or ordering,” equivalent to tak- (base of tássein (Attic táttein) “to arrange, put in order”) + -tikos -tic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for tactic
Contemporary Examples
But he added that the tactic ensured all “relevant” topics in the world of politics were back to the world of Paul.
When that tactic failed to break the strike, the Sikhs received a visitor: a representative from the Indian consulate in Houston.
It was a tactic designed to force Israeli concessions before talks break down.
But overstating hateful history is precisely the tactic of the warmongers.
The tactic made sense only as a stall for defendants each facing 20 years or more in prison.
Historical Examples
The enemy then followed a tactic which was to succeed rapidly.
World's War Events, Vol. IVarious
Nothing the enemy has done so far points to that kind of tactic.
The Electronic Mind ReaderJohn Blaine
The man who overrides you will as often be pursuing a tactic as he cajoles you.
The Unpopular Review Vol. IVarious
But Gene and Symonds were on the bottom, too crushed by this tactic to make a sound.
The Hell ShipRaymond Alfred Palmer
Their first tactic would probably be to push us off, one by one.
The Planet SaversMarion Zimmer Bradley
tactic
- a piece of tactics; tactical moveSee also tactics
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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 tactic
n.
1766, from Modern Latin tactica, from Greek taktike (tekhne) "(art of) arrangement," from fem. of taktikos (see tactics). Earlier it meant "a tactician" (1630s), and was in use as an adjective meaning "tactical" (c.1600).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper