tactic

1 of 3

noun

tac·​tic ˈtak-tik 

1

: a device for accomplishing an end

2

: a method of employing forces in combat

tactic

2 of 3

adjective

: of or relating to arrangement or order

-tactic

3 of 3

adjective combining form

1

: of, relating to, or having (such) an arrangement or pattern

phonotactic

2

: showing orientation or movement directed by a (specified) force or agent

geotactic

Note: Adjectives formed with -tactic usually correspond to nouns ending in -taxis.

Examples of tactic in a Sentence

Noun

an effective tactic for solving crimes

We may need to change tactics.

a specialist in naval tactics

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Eva sometimes tells clients about the murky trade in which people claiming to have connections to unscrupulous Meta workers offer to restore accounts for a price of thousands of dollars—and the tactic appears to have paid off in the past. —Paresh Dave, WIRED, 19 Apr. 2024

By evoking his designs in the 1990s, Galliano continues to use the same tactics—calling upon historical silhouettes from moments of industrial change—to comment on the nature of commodity culture today. —TIME, 17 Apr. 2024

Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie are already threatening to topple Johnson over his intention to use the tactic of splitting up the bill to move the aid. —The Editors, National Review, 17 Apr. 2024

But while the primary tactic of Gunrunner was the interdiction of buyers and sellers who were violating the laws, the agents in Phoenix had other plans. —Ieva Jusionyte, Rolling Stone, 16 Apr. 2024

Officials across the state have stressed the tactic is not an acceptable for of protest in Florida. —David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2024

The lawsuit argues Walmart used deceptive and misleading pricing tactics on its products. —Laura Daniella Sepulveda, The Arizona Republic, 13 Apr. 2024

Guilds representing journalists from newsrooms across California, including the Mercury News and East Bay Times, condemned the tactic. —Ethan Baron, The Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2024

Last year’s much-vaunted summer counteroffensive foundered amid muted but pointed mutual recrimination between Ukrainian officials and American backers over battle tactics. —Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024

Adjective

Cleveland hosted the 2016 RNC. Milwaukee, Cleveland use RNC to tell positive stories Cleveland used the RNC to tell positive stories about the city − a tactic Visit Milwaukee is embracing. —Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 29 Feb. 2024

The resilient tun state isn’t the only tactic water bears use to survive environmental stress, and the team plans to study these other strategies in close detail. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 17 Jan. 2024

Compressing file contents into archived zip files has long been a tactic threat actors use to conceal malware spreading through email or downloads. —Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 15 May 2023

This is a tactic vendors of all sizes can employ to make returns somewhat more predictable. —Heather Hoover-Salomon, Fortune, 17 Nov. 2023

Miguel, who was elected mayor in October 2021, said Thursday that music has been constantly playing at the bandshell for roughly the past six months to discourage crime — a tactic cities have used for more than a decade. —Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2023

Fast-food companies quickly launched a campaign to qualify a referendum on the ballot to reverse the law, a tactic business interests have adopted to pause and halt progressive laws from taking effect in California. —Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2023

One of the standard protocols is to have a second submersible on hand that can reach the first one if necessary, which is a tactic film director and deep-sea explorer James Cameron used during his 33 dives to the Titanic. —Syris Valentine, Scientific American, 31 July 2023

The Trump administration moved to ban the use of consent decrees, calling the tactic federal overreach. —David Nakamura, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from New Latin tactica "art of deploying troops in combat," borrowed from Greek taktikḗ (originally modifying téchnē "art, skill "), noun derivative from feminine of taktikós "of ordering or arranging, of ordering troops in combat"; in recent use also as back-formation from tactics — more at tactic entry 2

Adjective

borrowed from Greek taktikós "of ordering or arranging, of ordering troops in combat," from taktós "ordered, prescribed" (verbal adjective of tássein —Attic táttein— "to draw up in order [as troops, ships], post, station, place in order, prescribe, assess," of uncertain origin) + -ikos -ic entry 1

Note: The derivative noun tagḗ "line of battle" (and possibly Thessalian tāgós "commander") show that the base of the verb was tag-, which should have resulted in *tázein rather than tássein; the latter was presumably introduced from generalization of the voiceless consonant in the aorist and in derivatives such as taktós, táxis, etc. The base tag- has been compared with the Parthian title tgmdr (read as *taɣma-dára "order-giver"), Old Persian ham-ataxšata "they have put in order," Tocharian B tāś "commander," and (semantically much more distant) Lithuanian patogùs "convenient, comfortable," sutógti "to get married, ally oneself." R. Beekes proposes a verb *teh₂g-, invoking a law to delete the laryngeal in order to avoid positing a base with *a (Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2010).

Adjective combining form

borrowed from Greek -taktikos, after pairs such as prótaxis "placement in front, prefixing," protaktikós "used as a prefix" — more at tactic entry 2

First Known Use

Noun

1640, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1871, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing tactic

• delaying tactic
• delay tactic

Kids Definition

tactic

noun

tac·​tic

ˈtak-tik

1

: a method of arranging and moving forces in combat

2

: a planned action for a particular purpose

Medical Definition

tactic

adjective

tac·​tic ˈtak-tik 

1

: regular in structure of repeating units in a polymer

2

: of, relating to, or showing biological taxis