as in to evade
to elude (an opponent in a sports contest) by making a deceptive or agile movement
deked the lone defenseman with a deft move of his stick and went in for the breakaway
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Recent Examples of deke
From a similar spot on the pitch, Poirier deked a defender and her centering pass was headed in by Aflakpi soon thereafter.
—
Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 29 Oct. 2025
Nichushkin deked to the left of Lyon, but held onto the puck before slipping it to a cutting Makar for a tap-in at 4:32 of the second.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 13 Oct. 2025
The forward deked past the goaltender, backhanded the puck into the net and then slid into the boards.
—Peter Baugh, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
The body language of Alvarez there, just deked him.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 19 July 2025
Sometimes that’s why creative elects to deke viewers only to spring a swerve during an unexpected time.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
The insurance goal finally came with 7:50 left to play when Sam Bennett won a race for a loose puck, dangled the puck on his stick, deked Woll in front of the net and fired a shot into the net.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 12 May 2025
After defenseman Aaron Ekblad forced a turnover, Bennett won a race for a loose puck, deked Woll and sunk his shot with 7:50 left in the third period.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2025
Dreyer deked Seattle defender Jonathan Bell, cutting back on the run and then dumping the ball off to a streaking Godoy.
—Kyle Kensing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2025
Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 29 Oct. 2025
Nichushkin deked to the left of Lyon, but held onto the puck before slipping it to a cutting Makar for a tap-in at 4:32 of the second.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 13 Oct. 2025
The forward deked past the goaltender, backhanded the puck into the net and then slid into the boards.
—Peter Baugh, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
The body language of Alvarez there, just deked him.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 19 July 2025
Sometimes that’s why creative elects to deke viewers only to spring a swerve during an unexpected time.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
The insurance goal finally came with 7:50 left to play when Sam Bennett won a race for a loose puck, dangled the puck on his stick, deked Woll in front of the net and fired a shot into the net.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 12 May 2025
After defenseman Aaron Ekblad forced a turnover, Bennett won a race for a loose puck, deked Woll and sunk his shot with 7:50 left in the third period.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2025
Dreyer deked Seattle defender Jonathan Bell, cutting back on the run and then dumping the ball off to a streaking Godoy.
—Kyle Kensing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deke
Verb
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The company said Perplexity wasn't operating transparently and is evading the company to gain unauthorized access to its store.—
Ashley Capoot,Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
4 Nov. 2025
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After successfully evading arrest, Lennon remained on the run for 13 years.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Miškinis and writer Eglė Vertelytė (who adapts Rimantas Kmita’s semi-autobiographical novel) masterfully dodge genre tropes, avoiding confining their characters to simplistic labels and keeping the focus of their arcs self-motivated.—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
30 Oct. 2025
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On the transgender issue, Earle-Sears has attacked Spanberger over the inclusion of transgender-identifying biological males in women’s sports, restrooms, and locker rooms as the Democratic candidate dodges the subject and says the issue should be handled locally.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deke.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deke. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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