stalking horses

noun

plural of stalking horse
as in competitors

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stalking horses
  1. competitors
  2. entrants
  3. contestants
  4. favorites
  5. entries
  6. qualifiers
  7. candidates
  8. applicants
Noun
  • Though Unitree is profitable, unlike most of its competitors, its products are mainly being sold to universities and research institutions rather than being used commercially.
    — Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Mohammed Zahidullah, chief sustainability officer at DBL Group, warned that Bangladesh risks losing orders to competitors including India, Pakistan and Vietnam as those sourcing markets move more quickly to adopt renewable energy.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of competitors
Noun
  • Instead, entrants are screened by a panel of professionals in the appropriate peer groups (animation, costume design, emerging media programming and motion and title design).
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 12 Aug. 2026
  • But Tencent is facing a slew of competition in the AI space, from established titans like Alibaba to newer entrants like DeepSeek and Moonshot AI, the developer of the Kimi models.
    — Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of entrants
Noun
  • Higgins was joined by Rausch and fellow Season 4 contestants Monét X Change, Tara Lipinski, Lisa Rinna, Rob Cesternino and Eric Nam for the Deadline conversation.
    — The Deadline Team, Deadline, 15 Aug. 2026
  • The finale features four contestants competing on an American Ninja Warrior–style course, and the other 116 competitors lined up behind them in patriotic jerseys.
    — Alexandra Petri, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of contestants
Noun
  • Both are teammates of Storrie’s Ilya Rozanov, and eventually Gillespie’s Troy Barrett, and are fan favorites in the book series.
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Read on for our full guide to the cast and characters of Camp Rock 3, including returning favorites and new campers.
    — Allison DeGrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of favorites
Noun
  • At the Grand Slams, which have 128 entrants in the men’s and women’s singles fields, wild cards usually take up six percent of the entries.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Out of 90 total concessionaires, 46 participated this year, with a record-breaking number of 77 different entries.
    — Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of entries
Noun
  • For the first time in quite a while, the western and eastern Europe qualifiers have been merged into one super qualifier, featuring top teams from both regions.
    — Mike Stubbs, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Definition of qualifiers
Noun
  • Wasserman Schultz was sharply criticized by Black community leaders and the other four candidates, who are all African American, for running in this district.
    — Caroline Linton, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Starting corners who have been speculated as potential trade candidates this summer around the NFL include Kansas City’s Kristian Fulton and Denver’s Riley Moss.
    — Jon Machota, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of candidates
Noun
  • Continue reading … HOLSTER HOLDUP — California gun-rights battle delivers major win for applicants stuck waiting in LA.
    — , FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • According to the Panamanian embassy in Washington DC, applicants must be physically be in Panama when the visa is issued.
    — Brittany Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of applicants
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

stalking horse
stalking horses
stalks
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Cite this Entry

“Stalking horses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stalking%20horses. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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