Showing results for "tactics"

• plural of tactic.

tactics

American  

[tak-tiks] / ˈtæk tɪks /

noun

1. (usually used with a singular verb) the art or science of disposing military or naval forces for battle and maneuvering them in battle.

2. (used with a plural verb) the maneuvers themselves.

3. (used with a singular verb) any mode of procedure for gaining advantage or success.

4. (usually used with a singular verb)

   1. the patterns in which the elements of a given level or stratum in a language may combine to form larger constructions.

   2. the study and description of such patterns.

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tactics British  

/ ˈtæktɪks /

plural noun

1. (functioning as singular) military the art and science of the detailed direction and control of movement or manoeuvre of forces in battle to achieve an aim or task

2. the manoeuvres used or plans followed to achieve a particular short-term aim

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Synonym Usage

See strategy.

Other Word Forms

• countertactics
  noun
• tactician
  noun

Etymology

Origin of tactics

First recorded in 1620–30; see origin at tactic, -ics

Explanation

Tactics are your carefully planned actions for attaining a certain goal. You'll have to come up with some clever tactics if you're going to figure out how to build the fastest race car and win the Girl Scout troop competition. Tactics also refers to a branch of military science that deals with planning maneuvers. Military tactics involve organizing troops in certain ways, in various locations, and deploying them according to plan. Your military strategy is your plan of action to achieve your overall goal — sinking the Spanish armada, for instance — while your tactics are the nuts and bolts of how you achieve it — deploying small, agile gunboats. Tactics comes from the Greek root taktos, meaning "ordered, arranged."

Example Sentences

To be sure, Russia has adapted by improving electronic warfare, hardening facilities, expanding drone production and developing new glide-bomb tactics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 7, 2026

While there is hope that Rutte's tactics will pay off again in Ankara -- among some there is a sense that it's just a sticking plaster solution.

From Barron's • Jul. 6, 2026

The change played into England's hands and they were well equipped to deal with Mexico's cross-heavy tactics.

From BBC • Jul. 6, 2026

When you arrive on tour so quickly, nobody knows your weaknesses to begin with, but opponents will get wise to your game and find tactics that work against you.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026

By 2000, the DEA had directly trained more than 25,000 officers in forty-eight states in Pipeline tactics and helped to develop training programs for countless municipal and state law enforcement agencies.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander