Synonyms of gambit

gambit

noun

ˈgam-bət 

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.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ruse
• scheme
• trick
• device
• stratagem
• ploy
• jig
• dodge
• sleight of hand
• fetch
• bluff
• knack
• gimmick
• flimflam
• sleight
• wile
• play
• deception
• artifice
• cunning
• feint
• subterfuge
• juggle
• shenanigan
• trickery
• chicanery
• duplicity
• hoax
• swindle
• skulduggery
• end run
• swindling
• legerdemain
• jugglery
• cheating
• fakery
• fraud
• sham
• gaff
• crookery
• blind
• smoke screen
• craft
• cozenage
• front
• dupery

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of gambit

In a gambit for votes in next year’s elections, the far-right nationalist party Rassemblement National put forth a plan last week to invest billions in air-conditioning. — Jessica Roy, Curbed, 29 June 2026

Morrison’s gambit Foster’s brother Morrison began working to revive the songwriter’s memory about 30 years after his death. — Christopher Lynch, The Conversation, 1 July 2026

And yet, in spite of its Clark and Dearborn gambit and an hourlong finale that ties far too many bows on top of bows, Season 5 works because its artistic machinations are rooted in character over plot, and the characters are what matters. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 26 June 2026

His most successful gambit was the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’, the fight held in Kinshasa in 1974 between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 17 June 2026

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