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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Recent Examples of gambit
Alessio is a sharp critic of both the misuse of reserves and the term-limit gambit.
—
U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2026
In theory, the gambit should secure more value of GameStop’s shareholders than going solo, even if the combination’s shares decline.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 9 May 2026
The gambit worked, and the DOJ probe was dropped on April 24.
—ABC News, 6 May 2026
Jeffries tears into DeSantis as 'charismatically challenged' over redistricting gambit.
—FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gambit
U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2026
In theory, the gambit should secure more value of GameStop’s shareholders than going solo, even if the combination’s shares decline.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 9 May 2026
The gambit worked, and the DOJ probe was dropped on April 24.
—ABC News, 6 May 2026
Jeffries tears into DeSantis as 'charismatically challenged' over redistricting gambit.
—FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gambit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gambit
Noun
-
One team of successful attorneys created an elaborate ruse a couple of years ago that involved a private jet and an Oscar-worthy acting job.—
Kristin Shaw,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
-
This clever ruse thwarted the late-summer naval attack.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Season One of Off Campus centers hockey captain Garret Graham (Belmont Cameli) and music major Hannah Wells (Ella Bright), who start a mutually beneficial fake-dating scheme.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
22 May 2026
-
Smartcards from this point on had much more powerful chips running much more powerful encryption schemes.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
22 May 2026
Noun
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Even when some of the tricks become apparent, each new repetition somehow delivers more than the last, though the weightless, old-school video game aesthetic of the alien monster design sticks out even more amid the stylishness of the world captured in-camera.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
22 May 2026
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Vogue consulted with masterful artists such as Tasha Reiko Brown, Amy Komorowski, Emma Day, and Aika Danica Flores to get their tricks for achieving low-key, everyday makeup looks that are undetectable to even the most trained of eyes.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gambit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gambit. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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