opening gambit

noun

: a first move
Their opening gambit in the negotiations was to demand a wage hike.

Examples of opening gambit in a Sentence

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Trump’s social media post may have been just an opening gambit. Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 5 May 2025 The Trump administration has sent mixed signals on whether the president’s tariffs are the opening gambit of trade negotiation. Sarah Fortinsky, The Hill, 7 Apr. 2025 While Trump’s plan is saddled with moral, legal and practical obstacles, it may have been proposed as a negotiation tactic to try to ratchet up pressure on Hamas or as an opening gambit in a bargaining process aimed at securing a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Freddie Clayton, NBC News, 9 Feb. 2025 But it may have been proposed as a negotiation tactic by Trump, to try to ratchet up pressure on Hamas or as an opening gambit in a bargaining process aimed at securing a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Tia Goldenberg, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for opening gambit

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Cite this Entry

“Opening gambit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/opening%20gambit. Accessed 22 May. 2025.

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