noun / verb
decoy
dih-KOY/dʌkˈɔɪ/
A person or thing used to lure or mislead, or to lure or mislead using one.
The inflatable tank acts as a decoy, drawing surveillance away from the real tank.
Etymology
The word referred to a swindler and then to something that lures a victim into a snare; a diversion retains that misleading attraction. A proposed connection with Dutch kooi, “cage,” remains uncertain.
In context
they positioned their aircraft carriers to the north as a decoy hoping Hy would go after them then their Battleship task forces would attack the US invasion Fleet
More examples
- The empty truck served as a decoy.
- They decoyed the guards away from the entrance.
- Several decoys distracted the pursuing aircraft.
Forms
decoy · decoys · decoyed · decoying