as in pawn
one that is or can be used to further the purposes of another
these changes to the zoning laws have only confirmed for many that the town council has become the cat's-paw of local real estate developers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cat's-paw
Noun
-
They were outcoached, David Adelman playing the role of a pawn in Chris Finch’s weeklong chess game.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
1 May 2026 -
In the lawsuit’s version of things, the Roys Report was a pawn used by Waterland to spread a false rape story and fatally undermine all of Campbell’s businesses.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That would mark the first withdrawal under this tool since February 2025, according to Bloomberg calculations based on the operation plan released late on Friday.—
Bloomberg,
Bloomberg,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Leavitt is still more a collection of tools than a finished product right now, but those tools have first-round upside, to be sure.—
Nick Baumgardner,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Cat's-paw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cat%27s-paw. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
