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
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Recent Examples of gambit
By midday, Johnson had a new gambit, Plan C, in which government spending would be extended three months with some of the extraneous elements of the bill stripped out, and without the change to the debt ceiling that Trump and Vance had wanted.
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Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2024
In a gambit so self-consciously cinematic it may have been designed to end up in a biopic, Mezrich tacked up his rejection slips from book editors, about 200 in all.
—Simon Van Zuylen-Wood, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
The gambit flopped, garnering poor ratings, critical derision, and internal strife.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2024
The gambit could feel regressive in a less assured film and in the hands of a lesser actor, especially when the plot leads Stan’s character, Edward, to a miracle cure.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gambit 
Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2024
In a gambit so self-consciously cinematic it may have been designed to end up in a biopic, Mezrich tacked up his rejection slips from book editors, about 200 in all.
—Simon Van Zuylen-Wood, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
The gambit flopped, garnering poor ratings, critical derision, and internal strife.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2024
The gambit could feel regressive in a less assured film and in the hands of a lesser actor, especially when the plot leads Stan’s character, Edward, to a miracle cure.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gambit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gambit
Noun
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Back-to-school reality:Campus shootings rose dramatically last year Sheriff: Suspect used a 'ruse' to gain entry to the school The shooting occurred shortly after 1 p.m. local time on Wednesday, according to Honea.Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2024
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They were given out-of-state weather reports to help play up the ruse in their small talk with customers.Joel Jacobs, ProPublica, 23 Dec. 2024
Noun
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In short, its core competency needs to be responding to predictable natural disasters rather than virtue-signaling about climate change that its expensive (but piddling in the global scheme of things) green-energy initiatives are powerless to affect one way or the other.The Editors, National Review, 13 Jan. 2025
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The scheme, which launches on January 14th, is only available in Korea for now, with expansion to other countries planned for the future.Janhoi McGregor, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Nanna has since learned new tricks and is starting potty training.Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025
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One of the best tricks to staying healthy is to base yourself near a gym.Annie Daly, AFAR Media, 6 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near gambit
Cite this Entry
“Gambit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gambit. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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