How to Use decoy in a Sentence

decoy

1 of 2 noun
  • He had a decoy distract the guard while he jumped over the fence.
  • One pair locked up on the decoys.
    — Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 18 Dec. 2025
  • Read on to find out more about these decoys.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 9 May 2026
  • It is reserved for two duck boats and vast piles of decoys.
    — Worth Matthewson, Outdoor Life, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Of course, using a decoy to get the press off your back is one thing.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 2 Mar. 2026
  • And the 49ers don’t have enough around him to use him as a decoy.
    — Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Place the decoy in an opening so it can be seen from a distance.
    — Matt Williams, Dallas News, 26 Mar. 2021
  • The decoys each come with a two-piece plastic stake for placement.
    — Nancy Jo Adams, Popular Mechanics, 11 May 2023
  • Hanging a decoy nest can make your yard look like someone else’s turf.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2026
  • The trailer full of decoys can come later.
    — The Editors, Outdoor Life, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Tae’Quan Johnson as a bit of a decoy and ran the ball all night.
    — Chris Hays, orlandosentinel.com, 6 Oct. 2020
  • But the filming ended up being a decoy to trick fans.
    — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Hodge isn’t a decoy any defense will respect on a bubble screen.
    — Ellis L. Williams, cleveland, 17 Nov. 2020
  • And, for the record, no, Waddle was not simply a decoy on the play.
    — Joe Schad, USA TODAY, 28 Sep. 2021
  • This is why experts recommend putting a decoy nest near your home.
    — Mallory Carra, The Spruce, 27 June 2026
  • Calls, which can be used as a decoy while hunting or as a unique collector’s item.
    — Madison Roberts, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Jan. 2023
  • This is my favorite spinning wing decoy on the market.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Set up decoy nests, clean yard debris, and seal tiny wall cracks to keep yellow jackets away.
    — Mallory Carra, The Spruce, 27 June 2026
  • When used correctly, these decoys can scare away pesky birds who are trying to roost on your porch.
    — Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 13 June 2026
  • This decoy is best suited to run in the heart of your spread, surrounded by other floaters.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 29 Oct. 2025
  • The Allies had set up decoy armies to throw the Germans off of their plans.
    — Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 29 May 2026
  • In one of the profiles, a decoy poses herself to be as young as 12.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 30 Apr. 2023
  • There’s no doubt that sitting a field edge with decoys can be an effective way to kill turkeys.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 16 Apr. 2026
  • That's an interesting last point, that even a dead idol is not allowed to be played as a decoy.
    — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 3 Nov. 2022
  • Notice how Curry is the decoy and sets a cross-screen for Looney to come up.
    — Shane Young, Forbes, 6 June 2022
  • There are a lot of costs associated with it—waders and guns, shells, decoys.
    — Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 17 Aug. 2023
  • In a grim tactic, the men in the church use a body as a decoy to disarm the attackers, and rush out.
    — Steffan Triplett, Vulture, 16 May 2021
  • Other methods to keep birds off the porch include decoys and predators.
    — Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 13 June 2026
  • The idea is that, from the sky, the decoys should look worthy of attack, without spending too much.
    — Melissa Bell, CNN, 11 Sep. 2023
  • Do not use reaping decoys while hunting turkeys on public ground.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 16 Apr. 2026

decoy

2 of 2 verb
  • The best way to kill these birds cleanly is to decoy them close and shoot them in the head.
    — Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 20 Jan. 2021
  • For example, the boss tom with a bunch of hens will be hard to decoy in with a single hen.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 16 Apr. 2025
  • What these guys really care about is decoying ducks in and seeing the show.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Shooting decoying ducks or geese, the third shot can be useful for some but even then, the third shot is often just a prayer.
    — Steve Meyer, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Dec. 2017
  • The most important aspect of decoying ducks and geese is location, says Zink.
    — Joe Arterburn, Outdoor Life, 13 Dec. 2019
  • Hunting - Guide Scott Clary said a low ceiling helped decoying action for snow geese.
    — Bink Grimes, Houston Chronicle, 9 Feb. 2018
  • Usually, Gordon camps in the dunker spot along the baseline and catches lobs from Jokic, sometimes decoyed as floaters.
    — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2025
  • Don’t be aggressive with calling, rattling, or decoying since reclusive bucks rarely respond well to those aggressive tactics.
    — Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 22 Nov. 2024
  • Pigeon hunting in Argentina offers the opportunity for decoying birds and was the most fun of the species to hunt there, in my opinion.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Of course, different hunting conditions and different waterfowl species require unique decoying strategies.
    — Joe Arterburn, Outdoor Life, 14 Nov. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'decoy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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