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
  • Among her likely competitors, Audrey Hobert and Malcolm Todd will be fun to watch as the Grammys’ first set of siblings nominated against each other for this prize.
    — Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Doncasters' exposure to the industrial gas turbine market as a percentage of revenue is greater in comparison to its larger competitors, Rothschild & Co noted in July.
    — Paulina Likos, CNBC, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of competitors
Noun
  • Competitive grants should support strong alternatives, including partnerships with effective schools and programs serving midcareer entrants.
    — Ilya Shapiro, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2026
  • And secondly, since investors are now recognizing the worsening launch crisis that Ars has been writing about for months, there is apparently capital to be raised for new entrants into the medium-lift launch market.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of entrants
Noun
  • Cut Week will mark the biggest elimination in The Voice history, when each coach will send two singers straight through to Live Shows as five more contestants battle for one remaining spot on each team.
    — Alicia Urrea, Billboard, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Uninterested Woman Game Show A classic game show premise, where our contestants are three scuzzy-looking men (Inde Navarrette, Jane Wickline, and Sarah Sherman) who really cannot just leave a married lesbian named Kelly (Saidah Belo-Osagie) alone.
    — Rima Parikh, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of contestants
Noun
  • Keep scrolling to shop 14 favorites that are guaranteed to fill your home with a little Christmas magic—all for under $100.
    — Kate Boswell, Southern Living, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Canadian rock favorites Nickelback start on the chart podium with Everything Under The Sun (Virgin Music Group/Inertia), their 11th studio album.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of favorites
Noun
  • There’s plenty of room to build Pick’em entries well beyond the ESPN doubleheader.
    — OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Nov. 2026
  • The narrative moves between teenage football players, police officers, and clueless parents, with diary entries, footnotes, photographs, and archival materials at play; you might be reminded of Rejection or Lost Lambs, but with odder grammar.
    — Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 10 Nov. 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
  • There’s been a lot of talk about candidates being authentic, being relatable.
    — Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Other smaller-name candidates also saw their petitions challenged.
    — Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of candidates
Noun
  • At the same time, applicants must complete a detailed background questionnaire that includes questions about previous adverse employment, adverse military service, and past criminal history – and certify that their answers are truthful.
    — Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 10 Nov. 2026
  • The closed-door, off-the-record, noncompetitive summit opened to applicants in May, later unfolding from September 17-21.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 10 Nov. 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 13 Nov. 2026.

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