Thesaurus results for CAT'S-PAWS

cat's-paws

noun

plural of cat's-paw

as in pawns

one that is or can be used to further the purposes of another these changes to the zoning laws have only confirmed for many that the town council has become the cat's-paw of local real estate developers

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for cat's-paws

Noun

Melton was a Mountain West All-Academic pick who today is an avid chess player, moving pawns on his phone or going toe-to-toe with Justin Verlander in the middle of the clubhouse.

— Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
With no end to the war in sight, inflation on the rise, fuel rationing and continued threats of strikes, the vast majority of the Iranian population appear not to be players, but pawns.

— Will Barker, TheWeek, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of pawns

Noun

Those inspection tools can help manufacturers identify internal issues before propulsion hardware reaches later production stages.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Many companies now rely on AI screening tools that filter applications based on keywords rather than real qualifications.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Sep. 2026

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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.

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cat's-paw

cat's-paws

catachreses

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“Cat's-paws.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cat%27s-paws. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of cat's-paws

noun

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