gamesmanship

noun

games·​man·​ship ˈgāmz-mən-ˌship How to pronounce gamesmanship (audio)
1
: the art or practice of winning games by questionable expedients without actually violating the rules
2
: the use of ethically dubious methods to gain an objective

Examples of gamesmanship in a Sentence

They blur the line between gamesmanship and cheating. that author doesn't go in for literary gamesmanship, so the reader is never led astray by the novel's narrator
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 idea that a foundational piece of vulnerability tracking infrastructure could vanish overnight because of political gamesmanship? Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025 With the civilian death toll rising steadily, the gamesmanship around talks had become background noise for many Ukrainians. Liubov Sholudko, New York Times, 20 May 2025 No smear campaign or political gamesmanship will ever change that. Naperville Sun, Chicago Tribune, 24 Mar. 2025 Contract disputes, regulatory delays and political gamesmanship have choked off investment in transmission and generation. Dan Eberhart, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gamesmanship

Word History

Etymology

games, plural of game entry 1 + -manship (after sportsmanship)

Note: A word popularized and probably originated in this sense by the British author Stephen Potter (1900-69) in The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship (1947).

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of gamesmanship was in 1947

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Cite this Entry

“Gamesmanship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gamesmanship. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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