noun
ploy
ploy
noun
1
A cunning tactic or trick used to gain an advantage.
"Offering the free trial was just a ploy to collect email addresses."
"His compliment was a ploy to get out of trouble."
How to Use Ploy
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA clever, often sneaky, move designed to get what you want.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
a clever ploy
a ploy to do something
see through a ploy
Word Forms
ployed past tense, ploys plural, ploys singular
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Offering the free trial was just a _____ to collect email addresses.
Etymology
Possibly a shortened form of "employ" or "deploy", though its exact origin is debated.