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decoy

Pronunciation: /ˈdiːkɔɪ/

The English word “decoy” has 6 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A person or object meant to lure somebody into danger.
  2. A real or fake animal used by hunters to lure game.
  3. Deceptive military device used to draw enemy attention or fire away from a more important target.
  4. An assembly of hooped or netted corridors into which wild ducks may be enticed (originally by tame ducks) and trapped.

verb

  1. To lead into danger by artifice; to lure into a net or snare; to entrap.
  2. To act as, or use, a decoy.

Etymology

From Dutch de + kooi, literally "the cage". Possibly related to verb coy (which itself may have been influenced by decoy).

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.