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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cat's-paws
  1. pawns
  2. tools
Noun
  • 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
  • Personnel is what’s important, but Scaloni treats his players as people, not as pawns on a chessboard.
    — James Horncastle, New York Times, 14 July 2026
Definition of pawns
Noun
  • Organizations have a narrow window to turn these same tools toward defense before that gap closes.
    — Ashish Bhatia, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026
  • That’s in line with modern baseball trends, with MLB front offices employing more sophisticated evaluation tools to monitor their ascending arms.
    — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of tools
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.

Browse Nearby Words

cat's-paw
cat's-paws
catachreses
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Cite this Entry

“Cat's-paws.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cat%27s-paws. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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