What does decoy mean?

Definitions for decoy
ˈdi kɔɪ, dɪˈkɔɪ; dɪˈkɔɪ, ˈdi kɔɪde·coy

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word decoy.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. decoy, steerernoun

    a beguiler who leads someone into danger (usually as part of a plot)

  2. bait, decoy, lureverb

    something used to lure fish or other animals into danger so they can be trapped or killed

  3. decoyverb

    lure or entrap with or as if with a decoy

Wiktionary

  1. decoynoun

    A person or object meant to lure something to danger.

  2. decoynoun

    A real or fake animal used by hunters to lure game.

  3. decoyverb

    To act or use a decoy.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Decoynoun

    Allurement to mischiefs; temptation.

    Etymology: from the verb.

    The devil could never have had such numbers, had he not used some as decoys to ensnare others. Government of the Tongue.

    These exuberant productions of the earth became a continual decoy and snare: they only excited and fomented lusts. John Woodward, Natural History.

    An old dramdrinker is the devil’s decoy. George Berkeley.

  2. To DECOYverb

    To lure into a cage; to intrap; to draw into a snare.

    Etymology: from koey, Dutch, a cage.

    A fowler had taken a patridge, who offered to decoy her companions into the snare. Roger L'Estrange.

    Decoy’d by the fantastick blaze,
    Now lost, and now renew’d, he sinks absorpt,
    Rider and horse. James Thomson, Autumn, l. 1165.

Wikipedia

  1. Decoy

    A decoy (derived from the Dutch de kooi, literally "the cage" or possibly ende kooi, "duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to lure them. Decoys have been used for centuries most notably in game hunting, but also in wartime and in the committing or resolving of crimes.

ChatGPT

  1. decoy

    A decoy is something or someone used to trick, mislead, or lure someone into a particular action, often as a distraction from their original objective, or used to divert attention away from the real object or person of interest. In hunting, decoys are artificial objects or imitations used to attract animals. In military strategies, decoys are used to simulate targets to confuse an enemy.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Decoyverb

    to lead into danger by artifice; to lure into a net or snare; to entrap; to insnare; to allure; to entice; as, to decoy troops into an ambush; to decoy ducks into a net

  2. Decoynoun

    anything intended to lead into a snare; a lure that deceives and misleads into danger, or into the power of an enemy; a bait

  3. Decoynoun

    a fowl, or the likeness of one, used by sportsmen to entice other fowl into a net or within shot

  4. Decoynoun

    a place into which wild fowl, esp. ducks, are enticed in order to take or shoot them

  5. Decoynoun

    a person employed by officers of justice, or parties exposed to injury, to induce a suspected person to commit an offense under circumstances that will lead to his detection

Wikidata

  1. Decoy

    A decoy is usually a person, device, or event meant as a distraction, to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. Decoys have been used for centuries most notably in game hunting, but also in wartime and in the committing or resolving of crimes.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Decoy

    de-koy′, v.t. to allure: to entrap: to lure into a trap.—n. anything intended to allure into a snare: an apparatus of hoops and network for trapping wild-ducks—sometimes duck-coy.—n. Decoy′-duck, a wild-duck tamed and trained to entice others into a trap: (fig.) one employed to allure others into a snare. [L. de, down, and O. Fr. coi, quiet; the earlier verb to coy was confused with the Dut. kooi—L. cavea, a cage. See Coy.]

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

  1. decoy

    An imitation in any sense of a person, object, or phenomenon which is intended to deceive enemy surveillance devices or mislead enemy evaluation. Also called dummy.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. decoy

    So to change the aspect of a ship-of-war by striking a topgallant-mast, setting ragged sails, disfiguring the sides by whitewash or gunpowder, yellow, &c., as to induce a vessel of inferior force to chase; when, getting within gun-shot range, she becomes an easy capture. Similar manœuvres are sometimes used by a single ship to induce an enemy's squadron to follow her into the view of her own fleet.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. decoy

    To lead or to entice into a snare; to lead into danger by artifice; to entrap. An enemy is said to be decoyed when a small body of troops draws them in to action, whilst the main body lies in ambush ready to act with the greatest effect.

Suggested Resources

  1. decoy

    Song lyrics by decoy -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by decoy on the Lyrics.com website.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of decoy in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of decoy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of decoy in a Sentence

  1. Jayden Reed:

    That’s something that we’ve been working on, we had a little decoy.

  2. Goethe:

    Every bird has its decoy, and every man is led and misled in his own peculiar way.

  3. Randy Credico:

    I am a decoy, the patsy to divert attention, or Roger Stone just didn't have one( an intermediary) and Roger Stone ego was too big to admit that.

  4. Ziv Mador:

    They will be challenged by the fact that (some) hackers are so sophisticated they might detect decoy servers or fake data.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

decoy#10000#38850#100000

Translations for decoy

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • изкуствена птица, примамкаBulgarian
  • návnadaCzech
  • locken, ködern, Lockvogel, KöderGerman
  • δόλωμα, κράχτης, δελεάζωGreek
  • señuelo, carnadaSpanish
  • houkutuslintu, houkutinFinnish
  • leurre, appât, piégerFrench
  • प्रलोभनHindi
  • zimbello, richiamo, escaItalian
  • おとり, 好餌Japanese
  • hunuhunu, tīmoriMāori
  • afleiding, lokvogelDutch
  • приманка, наживка, приманить, приманивать, подсадная утка, манокRussian
  • mamac, мамацSerbo-Croatian
  • decoySwedish
  • فیصلہUrdu
  • bätadök, bätabödVolapük

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"decoy." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/decoy>.

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