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Don’t let the similarities of sound and general flavor between gambit and gamble trip you up; the two words are unrelated. Gambit first appeared in English in a 1656 chess handbook that was said to feature almost a hundred illustrated gambetts. Gambett traces back first to the Spanish word gambito, and before that to the Italian gambetto, from gamba meaning “leg.” Gambetto referred to the act of tripping someone, as in wrestling, in order to gain an advantage. In chess, gambit (or gambett, as it was once spelled) originally referred to a chess opening whereby the bishop’s pawn is intentionally sacrificed—or tripped—to gain an advantage in position. Gambit is now applied to many other chess openings, but after being pinned down for years, it also finally broke free of chess’s hold and is used generally to refer to any “move,” whether literal or rhetorical, done to get a leg up, so to speak. While such moves can be risky, gambit is not synonymous with gamble, which likely comes from Old English gamen, meaning “amusement, jest, pastime”—source too of game.
Examples of gambit in a Sentence
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
Their audacious gambit was launched in response to the gentrification taking place in Providence.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 24 July 2025
Baden Bower’s transparency gambit Baden Bower is preparing to launch a comprehensive transparency initiative in the PR industry.
—Ascend Agency, Baltimore Sun, 24 July 2025
Democrats on the Rules Committee planned to force another vote on their gambit this week, but Republicans on the panel decided to break for recess without adopting a procedural rule, leaving the chamber unable to consider legislation through regular order this week.
—Mychael Schnell, The Hill, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for gambit
Cite this Entry
“Gambit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gambit. Accessed 8 Aug. 2025.
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