decoy

Noun · Verb
Synonyms: steererbaitlure

WordNet 3.0

Noun (2)

  1. a beguiler who leads someone into danger (usually as part of a plot)Synonyms: steerer
  2. something used to lure fish or other animals into danger so they can be trapped or killedSynonyms: baitlure

Verb (1)

  1. lure or entrap with or as if with a decoy
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Decoy \De*coy"\, n.

1.Anything intended to lead into a snare; a lure that deceives and misleads into danger, or into the power of an enemy; a bait. [1913 Webster]

2.A fowl, or the likeness of one, used by sportsmen to entice other fowl into a net or within shot. [1913 Webster]

3.A place into which wild fowl, esp. ducks, are enticed in order to take or shoot them. [1913 Webster]

4.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. [1913 Webster]

Decoy \De*coy"\ (d[-e]*koi"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decoyed (-koid"); p. pr. & vb. n. Decoying.] [Pref. de- + coy; orig., to quiet, soothe, caress, entice. See Coy.] 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. [1913 Webster]

Did to a lonely cot his steps decoy. --Thomson. [1913 Webster]

E'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy, The heart, distrusting, asks if this be joy. --Goldsmith.

Syn: To entice; tempt; allure; lure. See Allure. [1913 Webster]

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