straw man

noun

1
: a weak or imaginary opposition (such as an argument or adversary) set up only to be easily confuted
2
: a person set up to serve as a cover for a usually questionable transaction

Examples of straw man 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.
This will enable the type of straw man circumstances to go underground and work at a global scale. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025 The true villain is Zac, who is really just a straw man for the Mormon church. — Olivia Crandall, Vulture, 16 May 2025 But that straw man ignores the text of modern bills and laws, which include exceptions for emergencies and scheduling. — Gleb Tsipursky, Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2026 Which is try to be reasonable and reasoned, try to apply logic, try to be fair, try not to straw man people on opposing sides of arguments. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 1 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for straw man

Word History

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of straw man was in 1840

Rhymes for straw man

See All Rhymes for straw man

Browse Nearby Words

straw line
straw man
strawmote
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Straw man.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/straw%20man. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Legal Definition

straw man

noun
: an intermediary for a transaction (as a conveyance of real property)
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!

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