as in ruse
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
The seemingly benign questioning was all just a gambit to get them to fess up to their wrongdoing.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gambit
Details of Xi’s gambit for the future were approved on Thursday by China’s rubber-stamp legislature in Beijing as the week-long annual assembly drew to a close.
—
John Liu, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026
But there is good reason to think that this time, his gambits may fail.
—Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2026
Dawson instead showed up at Cubs’ spring training in ’87 and made the most famous gambit in free agent history — offering the team a blank contract to sign him.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
That gambit actually worked back then.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 8 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gambit
John Liu, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026
But there is good reason to think that this time, his gambits may fail.
—Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2026
Dawson instead showed up at Cubs’ spring training in ’87 and made the most famous gambit in free agent history — offering the team a blank contract to sign him.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
That gambit actually worked back then.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 8 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gambit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gambit
Noun
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The play begins in the mode of a Black sitcom, but this is an elaborate ruse for a theatrical dissection of the subjects of race, representation, spectatorship and control.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2026
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Only when she is betrayed by a servant do the suitors discover the ruse.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Research also suggests that state and federal gas taxes are just one component of a complex pricing scheme that includes the global price of oil and other factors, the group said.—
Matthew Daly,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Mar. 2026
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Court records in both the federal criminal case and Bonta’s civil suit alleged the scam began as early as 2014 and ended in August 2023, shortly after Voice of San Diego first exposed the scheme publicly in a series of stories.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The only trick now is for the league to get a team to the final Monday night of the season and actually cut down the nets.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
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Eating a balanced diet should do the trick for the majority.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gambit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gambit. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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