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🕵️ A trap helper 🦆 A fake animal 🎣 To lure
decoy

decoy

19 6.2
An object that attracts animals like birds or fish
  • noun
  • /ˈdiːkɔɪ/
translation icon : señuelo
  • Many birdwatchers use a decoy to lure specific species closer for a better view.
  • decoy crops
  • decoy traps
  • duck decoy

Examples

  • I waded into the water, unwound the weights, and set the decoys in a circle.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Kenny Dunlap lays the decoys out on the water, one at a time.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • We're setting up a decoy!

    Nope (2022)

  • My first duck hunt, I shot the decoy.

    Vampire Assassin (2005)

  • I carried six heavy wooden decoys to the ice-rimmed pond.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • A pair of expensive, hand-painted duck decoys sat on the fireplace mantel.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The hunter placed a decoy on the water to attract ducks for the perfect shot.

  • Using a realistic decoy, the fisherman hoped to trick the fish into biting.

Synonyms

bait
vsdecoy
79 1.0

Food put to attract fish or animals to catch them

is a nonfood object or device that attracts animals into danger
lure
vsdecoy
23 4.6

An object that attracts fish or other animals into a trap

has identical meaning but is a different common expression

Antonyms

repellent
18 4.2

A chemical used to keep insects and other animals away

Compounds

decoy-duck
6.5

A fake duck made of wood or plastic that hunters use to attract real ducks

How Attractive

bait
79 1.0
lure
23 4.6
decoy
19 6.2
to dummy
  • Jargon
3 7.6

Surface Forms

decoy singular
decoys plural

Etymology

Decoy comes from the old Dutch phrase de kooy, 'the cage', which named ponds and nets used to catch ducks. That is why a decoy (the object) is something put out to attract animals into a trap or closer to you.