as in ruse
a clever often underhanded means to achieve an end
I couldn't tell whether her earlier poor-mouthing had been sincere or just a gambit to get me to pick up the dinner check
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Examples of gambit in a Sentence
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Recent Examples on the Web
Standish is shocked by Lamb’s indecency — which is saying something about the level of that indecency — but the gambit works.
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Scott Tobias, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2024
Ukrainian forces penetrated Russian defenses in August and seized a swath of Russian territory in the Kursk region — a gambit seen by many as a blow to Putin’s prestige.
—Matthew Bodner, NBC News, 30 Oct. 2024
Who was the chess master, making each move with precision, making the right gambit, using his pawns, and waiting for the right moment to attack, and then simply calling checkmate?
—Dan Freedman, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
David Bowie Now Has a Number One Country Music Hit
No stranger to fiery love affairs, fraught dynamics or formal gambits, Guadagnino sets the movie’s torrid first half in a fantasy Mexico City one phallic statue away from going full Querelle.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gambit 
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2024
Ukrainian forces penetrated Russian defenses in August and seized a swath of Russian territory in the Kursk region — a gambit seen by many as a blow to Putin’s prestige.
—Matthew Bodner, NBC News, 30 Oct. 2024
Who was the chess master, making each move with precision, making the right gambit, using his pawns, and waiting for the right moment to attack, and then simply calling checkmate?
—Dan Freedman, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
David Bowie Now Has a Number One Country Music Hit
No stranger to fiery love affairs, fraught dynamics or formal gambits, Guadagnino sets the movie’s torrid first half in a fantasy Mexico City one phallic statue away from going full Querelle.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gambit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gambit
Noun
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But the photos only tell half of the story how White pulled off an elaborate ruse to surprise Dobrev with his proposal.Alli Rosenbloom, CNN, 30 Oct. 2024
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Though the establishment allegedly tried to lure Edward away from Wallis with fantastical tales about her to smear her reputation, the ruse didn’t work.Rachel Burchfield, People.com, 28 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The stunning corruption scheme finally came to an end in September 2013, when authorities tricked his NCIS mole into thinking the most serious investigations had been closed and then invited Francis to San Diego for a meeting with Navy officials.Alex Riggins, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
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In the last few days, the intelligence agencies have issued further public notifications that—presumably as part of the same scheme—Russia was behind bogus videos falsely depicting someone in Pennsylvania ripping up ballots and Haitians illegally voting in Georgia.The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
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But note the fun trick of resizing or even rotating the cloned objects: People Beautifier PhotoDirector's People Beautifier tool has four subsets: Face Tools, Face Deblur, Body Shaper, and Skin Smoother.PCMAG, PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
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For example, have the dog chase a ball or do a trick and reward the behaviors.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near gambit
Cite this Entry
“Gambit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gambit. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.
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