ploy

noun

ˈplȯi 

1

: escapade, frolic

2

a

: a tactic intended to embarrass or frustrate an opponent

b

: a devised or contrived move : stratagem

a ploy to get her to open the door

—Robert B. Parker

Synonyms

• artifice
• device
• dodge
• fetch
• flimflam
• gambit
• gimmick
• jig
• juggle
• knack
• play
• ruse
• scheme
• shenanigan
• sleight
• stratagem
• trick
• wile

Examples of ploy in a Sentence

Her story about being sick is only a ploy to get you to give her money.

asking me to take her shopping turned out to be a ploy to get me to the surprise party

Recent Examples on the Web

But the boldest move here was Brennan's ploy to get her father acquitted. —Kelly Connolly, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2024

When casting and rip jigging it, the water resistance makes this lure fall ever so slowly, which is a good ploy along the edges of weed beds. —David A. Rose, Field & Stream, 20 Mar. 2024

Is this a ploy by the school to increase the fund-raising manpower and the motivation to raise funds? —Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024

Once a financial advisor to NFL football players, Blazer had been caught in a fraudulent ploy to misappropriate more than $2M from his clients to fund his hapless forays into the entertainment industry, including financing an instantly forgettable film called Mafia. —Guy Lawson, Rolling Stone, 24 Mar. 2024

Understandably, the queen assumes the decision is Wilhelm’s reactive –– and fleeting –– ploy to reunite with Simon (Omar Rudberg), who ended their relationship in the penultimate episode after expressing his fears that the pressures of the crown were changing Wilhelm and himself. —Hunter Ingram, Variety, 19 Mar. 2024

Meanwhile, Democrats accused Republicans of scuttling the bill in a cynical ploy to keep the border in chaos — and a political problem for Biden. —Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024

Trending Now: As Humira biosimilars take over the market, CVS has created a new ploy: the drug ‘rebate credit’ Where is that translation between studying bird brains and studying human brains? —Nicholas Stfleur, STAT, 15 Mar. 2024

Schiff cheapened himself with his cynical effort to help Garvey in Senate primary Rep. Adam B. Schiff’s clever and cynical ploy in California’s Senate primary enabled him to avoid risk in the November runoff. —Laurel Rosenhall, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably from employ

First Known Use

1697, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing ploy

• counter-ploy
• marketing ploy

Kids Definition

ploy

noun

ˈplȯi 

: a trick designed to embarrass or upset an opponent