1
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 doorRobert B. Parker

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
His inclusion could come across as a cynical ploy, a way of measuring social progress in a backward town. Grace Byron, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2025 Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway, a Democrat, believes the financial incentives are a federal ploy to pull local officers away from their everyday duties and direct them to immigration enforcement. Rafael Carranza, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2025 Ripping from the headlines is a money-making ploy as old as Hollywood itself. Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 13 Oct. 2025 Is this anything more than a political ploy? NBC news, 12 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ploy

Word History

Etymology

probably from employ

First Known Use

1697, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ploy was in 1697

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ploy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ploy. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

ploy

noun
: a trick designed to embarrass or upset an opponent

More from Merriam-Webster on ploy

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