an action or maneuver intended to outwit or disconcert another person
Origin of ploy
from uncertain or unknown; perhaps employ (noun)
noun
The definition of a ploy is a scheme or cunning attempt to achieve a desired aim.
When you go on and on about how great your mom's cookies are in a cunning attempt to get her to make some cookies, this is an example of a ploy.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"ploy." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 08 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PLOY>.
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ploy. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PLOY
ploy
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"ploy." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 08 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PLOY>.
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ploy. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PLOY
ploy
noun
An action calculated to frustrate an opponent or gain an advantage indirectly or deviously; a maneuver: “A typical ploy is to feign illness, procure medicine, then sell it on the black market” ( Jill Smolowe )
Origin of ploy
Perhaps from employ employment (obsolete)THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"ploy." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 08 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PLOY>.
APA Style
ploy. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PLOY
Noun
(plural ploys)
Verb
(third-person singular simple present ploys, present participle ploying, simple past and past participle ployed)
- (military) To form a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision.
Antonyms
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
Anagrams
Origin
Probably abbreviated from deploy.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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MLA Style
"ploy." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 08 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/PLOY>.
APA Style
ploy. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/PLOY
Sentence Examples
- It's a very common and very deceptive ploy to use "star power" to lure you into trying a diet that may, or may not, be designed for optimal health and nutrition.
- As part of the main character's ploy to make robbers think his house was occupied, cardboard silhouettes "dance" to the song as Christmas lights twinkle, proving anyone can get caught up in its infectious beat.
- Many speculated that the move to join the highly rated television show was a public relations ploy to take attention off of her pending divorce settlement.
- In essence, the crossover vehicle first used as a marketing ploy evolved by each auto manufacturer's production of what they considered to be a crossover based on seating, driving maneuverability, and interior family-themed features.
- Each Christmas he teams up with his partner in crime, Marcus, to portray Santa and his trusty elf at department stores, a ploy that allows Marcus to case the store while Willie mangles every child's dream of meeting Santa Claus.
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