stalking horse

noun

stalk·​ing horse ˈstȯ-kiŋ- How to pronounce stalking horse (audio)
Synonyms of stalking horsenext
1
: a horse or a figure like a horse behind which a hunter stalks game
2
: something used to mask a purpose
3
: a candidate put forward to divide the opposition or to conceal someone's real candidacy

Examples of stalking horse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The stalking horse bid, which sets a price floor for the assets, will be tested at auction. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2025 Markets may be used as stalking horses to extract more from other markets. — Maury Brown, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2026 The stalking horse bid is subject to better offers should any materialize in the coming weeks. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 31 Dec. 2025 As the stalking horse, Gordon Brothers’ bid will set the base price for all subsequent potential bidders for the assets. — Vicki M. Young, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for stalking horse

Word History

First Known Use

1519, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stalking horse was in 1519

Rhymes for stalking horse

See All Rhymes for stalking horse

Browse Nearby Words

stalkiness
stalking horse
stalkingly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stalking horse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stalking%20horse. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on stalking horse

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for stalking horse

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All