Definition of "decoy" []

• A living or artificial bird or other animal used to entice game into a trap or within shooting range. (noun)
• An enclosed place, such as a pond, into which wildfowl are lured for capture. (noun)
• A means used to mislead or lead into danger. (noun)
• To lure or entrap by or as if by a decoy. See Synonyms at lure. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "A team led by the University of Cambridge bred chickens with a piece of DNA that produces what researchers dubbed a decoy molecule, which tricks and diverts an enzyme key to the flu virus' reproduction."
• "This works well with decoy shy ducks, because sometimes the best decoy is none at all."
• "Sure, the birds fly all day, but getting one to decoy is close to impossible."