decoy

noun

1. 1

   A person or object meant to lure somebody into danger.

2. 2

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

3. 3

   Deceptive military device used to draw enemy attention or fire away from a more important target.

   2002, Robotech: Battlecry – Guide and Walkthrough Just every 5 seconds or so shoot out a decoy near the Cats Eye and the enemies will aim for that instead of the Cats Eye.

4. 4

   An assembly of hooped or netted corridors into which wild ducks may be enticed (originally by tame ducks) and trapped.

verb

1. 1

   To lead into danger by artifice; to lure into a net or snare; to entrap.

   to decoy troops into an ambush; to decoy ducks into a net

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

2. 2

   To act as, or use, a decoy.

   As they were being decoyed, the rescue team carried the hostage and quietly slipped away.

Forms

plural

decoys

past tense

decoyed

past participle

decoyed

present participle

decoying

third person singular

decoys