- 1a thing that someone does, or something that someone says at the beginning of a situation or conversation, that is intended to give them some advantage an opening gambit (= the first thing you say) His opponents dismissed his promise of tax cuts as a pre-election gambit. His idea of a brilliant conversational gambit is “What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?”
- 2a move or moves made at the beginning of a game of chess in order to gain an advantage later
Check pronunciation: gambit