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Definition of decoy


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de·coy  audio  (dkoi, d-koi) KEY  

NOUN:
    1. A living or artificial bird or other animal used to entice game into a trap or within shooting range.
    2. An enclosed place, such as a pond, into which wildfowl are lured for capture.
  1. A means used to mislead or lead into danger.
TRANSITIVE VERB:
de·coyed , de·coy·ing , de·coys (d-koi)
To lure or entrap by or as if by a decoy. See Synonyms at lure.

ETYMOLOGY:
Possibly from Dutch de kooi, the cage : de, the (from Middle Dutch; see to- in Indo-European roots) + kooi, cage (from Middle Dutch cie, from Latin cavea)

OTHER FORMS:
de·coyer (Noun)


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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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