Synonyms of gambits

gambits

noun

plural of gambit

as in ruses

a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end

I couldn't tell whether her earlier poor-mouthing had been sincere or just a gambit to get me to pick up the dinner check

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ruses
• schemes
• devices
• tricks
• stratagems
• sleights
• ploys
• artifices
• wiles
• dodges
• jigs
• shenanigans
• gimmicks
• sleights of hand
• plays
• knacks
• bluffs
• juggles
• deceptions
• subterfuges
• fetches
• feints
• trickeries
• duplicities
• chicaneries
• flimflams
• hoaxes
• swindles
• crafts
• cunnings
• end runs
• juggleries
• frauds
• gaffs
• duperies
• fakeries
• skulduggeries
• crookeries
• fronts
• cozenages
• smoke screens
• blinds
• legerdemains
• shams

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of gambits

Both are high-stakes and costly gambits, but as Vivienne Walt reports, Forrest is determined to prove that business can be a force for positive change. — Sam Forsdick, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2026

Sánchez is no stranger to gambits aimed at either saving his hide or strengthening his position. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026

More recently, De Luca and Abdy’s ambitious gambits have failed to reap profits. — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 4 Oct. 2026

The attorney general — appointed to his position last year by DeSantis after engineering some of the governor’s biggest political gambits while serving as his chief of staff — will be on the ballot this November for the first time. — Miami Herald, 30 July 2026

Some of Nolan’s aesthetic gambits are successful, including the diversity of its cast, his commitment to practical effects and on-location shooting, and the decision to have everyone sport an American accent. — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 27 July 2026

This perspective suggests that structural partisan advantage and voter registration patterns were decisive factors, countering narratives that place determinative weight on late-campaign tactical gambits. — Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2026

The Texas and California gambits were the first moves in an elaborate game of gerrymandering chess between the White House and Jeffries. — Jason Zengerle, New Yorker, 18 May 2026

Everything in the movie, from the chomping shark attacks that churn up the waves with Hawaiian Punch foam to the way a humongous great white meets her fate at the end, takes an obvious page from Steven Spielberg’s gambits and techniques. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Apr. 2026