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Definition of Decoy
1. Verb. Lure or entrap with or as if with a decoy.
2. Noun. A beguiler who leads someone into danger (usually as part of a plot).
Generic synonyms: Accomplice, Confederate, Beguiler, Cheat, Cheater, Deceiver, Slicker, Trickster
Specialized synonyms: Roper, Shill
3. Noun. Something used to lure fish or other animals into danger so they can be trapped or killed.
Specialized synonyms: Chum, Fish Lure, Fisherman's Lure, Ground Bait, Stool Pigeon
Generic synonyms: Device
Group relationships: Trap
Derivative terms: Bait, Lure
Definition of Decoy
1. v. t. 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. n. Anything intended to lead into a snare; a lure that deceives and misleads into danger, or into the power of an enemy; a bait.
Definition of Decoy
1. Noun. A person or object meant to lure something to danger. ¹
2. Noun. A real or fake animal used by hunters to lure game. ¹
3. Verb. To act or use a decoy. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Decoy
1. to lure into a trap [v -ED, -ING, -S]
Medical Definition of Decoy
1. 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. "Did to a lonely cot his steps decoy." (Thomson) "E'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy, The heart, distrusting, asks if this be joy." (Goldsmith) Synonym: To entice, tempt, allure, lure. See Allure. Origin: Pref. De- + coy; orig, to quiet, soothe, caress, entice. See Coy. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Decoy
Literary usage of Decoy
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of King's Bench: With by Great Britain Court of King's Bench, George Mifflin Wharton (1845)
"... where the tide ebbs and flows, so near to an ancient decoy on the shore (about
200 yards) as to make the birds there take Sight; the defendant having ..."
2. A Treatise on the Game Laws, and on Fisheries: With an Appendix, Containing by Joseph Chitty (1812)
"The learned Judge left this as evidence to the Jury of a wilful disturbance of
the plaintiff's decoy by the defendant, for which this action would lie; ..."
3. A Treatise of the Law of Waters: Including the Law Relating to Rights in the by Humphry William Woolrych (1853)
"First the plaintiff's right to the decoy was proved, and it appeared, probably
on the ... The decoy was situated on one of the salt creeks of that county, ..."
4. London by Charles Knight (1851)
"The ground contained within the channels of the decoy was called Duck Island;
... Westward from the decoy, °n the same side of the canal and connected with ..."
5. The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language by William Dwight Whitney (1889)
"The birds decoyed and the decoying birds being commonly ducks, the word decoy, esp.
as a noun, was soon turned by popular etymology into ..."
6. A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in by John Pinkerton (1814)
"... which, by their perpetual chirping and calling, quickly bring down the coveys
that are within hearing, and thereby decoy great numbers of them. ..."
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