1
as in ruse
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
asking me to take her shopping turned out to be a ploy to get me to the surprise party
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2
as in spree
a time or instance of carefree fun
wanted one grand ploy through Europe before settling down and raising a family
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ploy
The official called it a ploy to manipulate markets and said there’s no communication lines between the two countries.
—
Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2026
President Joe Biden attempted to appease Iran by relaxing sanctions, another ploy that failed.
—Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026
The cry had been a ploy by ISIS to get everyone to leave.
—Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
Conventional wisdom dictates that parading around a pup is a political ploy meant to humanize politicians.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ploy
Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2026
President Joe Biden attempted to appease Iran by relaxing sanctions, another ploy that failed.
—Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026
The cry had been a ploy by ISIS to get everyone to leave.
—Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
Conventional wisdom dictates that parading around a pup is a political ploy meant to humanize politicians.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ploy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ploy
Noun
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Six phone calls made from one of the suspect numbers — in between calls to the San Francisco victim on the day of his robbery — were to a Los Angeles man who was zip-tied, duct-taped and beaten inside his Los Angeles home on New Year’s Eve, following a delivery ruse.—
Megan Cassidy,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
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Antoine’s art dealer Armand (Lellouche), desperate to keep Antoine from falling apart, urges Suzanne to keep the ruse alive.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Then, in the summer transfer window, the club went on their largest spree ever, spending over £400million in fees, moves which naturally engendered sizeable salaries for the players signed.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
30 Mar. 2026
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Trader Joe’s has been on an expansion spree.—
Iris Kwok,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The prosecution said all along that the two younger defendants were part of the scheme, but Alaniz Pineda was the one who shot Canoy.—
Shannon Tyler,
Idaho Statesman,
4 Apr. 2026
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Authorities arrested eight people accused of conducting a series of health care fraud schemes that bilked tens of millions of dollars from Medicare and other insurance companies across Southern California, prosecutors announced April 2.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Old dog learns new tricks UConn forward Alex Karaban, who played on the 2023 and ’24 champions, is attempting to become the first non-UCLA player to win three national championships.—
Sean Hammond,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
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The brain bug's intrinsic ick factor is undeniably high, but using their proboscises to suck thoughts directly from the brains of their unfortunate victims is a pretty neat party trick.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ploy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ploy. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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