decoy Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a beguiler who leads someone into danger (usually as part of a plot)
steerer.
noun something used to lure fish or other animals into danger so they can be trapped or killed
lure; bait.
verb lure or entrap with or as if with a decoy

Pref. de- + coy; orig., to quiet, soothe, caress, entice. See Coy.

imperfect & past participle Decoyed ; present participle & verbal noun Decoying

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.
Syn. -- To entice; tempt; allure; lure. See Allure.

Anything intended to lead into a snare; a lure that deceives and misleads into danger, or into the power of an enemy; a bait.
A fowl, or the likeness of one, used by sportsmen to entice other fowl into a net or within shot.
A place into which wild fowl, esp. ducks, are enticed in order to take or shoot them.
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.