US /plɔɪ/
noun verb Freq #14320

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    A clever trick or plan used to gain an advantage.

    Offering free samples is a clever ploy to attract new customers.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a clever trick or plan used... rusestratagemgambit
Word family
Forms ploys
Derived forms counterploy

Etymology

Possibly from a shortened form of employ or deploy. Or from earlier ploye, from Middle English, borrowed from Middle French ployer (compare modern plier), from Latin plicāre.

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