stalking horses

noun

plural of stalking horse
as in competitors

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stalking horses
  1. competitors
  2. entrants
  3. contestants
  4. favorites
  5. entries
  6. qualifiers
  7. candidates
  8. applicants
Noun
  • Compared with three of its biggest competitors—ORLY, AZO, and AAP—GPC has performed noticeably better over the last quarter and change.
    — Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The Winner Receives a National Prize Package The public voting rounds gradually narrow the field until the final competitors remain.
    — Ethan M. Stone, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of competitors
Noun
  • The $4 million will be invested over the next three years in supporting new entrants and re-skilling mid-career professionals.
    — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The energy apprenticeship pipeline only had 45,000 entrants in 2024, but really needs 65,000 professionals flowing in yearly to close the labor supply gap.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of entrants
Noun
  • Failure to comply with the rules would result in disqualification for contestants.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • There are two more groups of contestants in the next round, followed by a semifinals round, and then the finals.
    — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of contestants
Noun
  • Naturally, some of our favorites happen to be in the women’s designer sale section.
    — Kristina Rutkowski, Vogue, 28 Aug. 2026
  • And this year’s menu reflects some through-the-years favorites, including some that have been re-imagined.
    — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of favorites
Noun
  • Thailand has submitted films for the category since 1984 and has sent 33 entries in total without once reaching the nominations stage.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Siniaková and Patten, along with a clutch of other top doubles teams, had to come through qualifying, because main-draw entries were allocated by combined singles ranking.
    — James Hansen, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of entries
Noun
  • For the first time in quite a while, the western and eastern Europe qualifiers have been merged into one super qualifier, featuring top teams from both regions.
    — Mike Stubbs, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Definition of qualifiers
Noun
  • If Woltemade leaves then Wissa, Joe Willock, who is set to stay, and Jacob Ramsey are the obvious candidates to compete to play there.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • During a meeting last week, officials held drawings to determine the order that candidates' names will appear on the ballot.
    — Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of candidates
Noun
  • To get in, applicants submit to exhaustive financial reviews, provide references, and sit for interviews.
    — Bridget Read, Curbed, 1 Sep. 2026
  • It is estimated that some 1,200 applicants were interviewed after the project was announced in 2023.
    — Jerry Shnay, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of applicants
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.

Browse Nearby Words

stalking horse
stalking horses
stalks
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Cite this Entry

“Stalking horses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stalking%20horses. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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