Definition of "decoy"

decoy

/ˈdiːkɔɪ/

noun
plural decoys
1. A person or object meant to lure somebody into danger.
2. A real or fake animal used by hunters to lure game.
3. Deceptive military device used to draw enemy attention or fire away from a more important target.
  Quotations
  Just every 5 seconds or so shoot out a decoy near the Cats Eye and the enemies will aim for that instead of the Cats Eye.
  2002, Robotech: Battlecry – Guide and Walkthrough
4. An assembly of hooped or netted corridors into which wild ducks may be enticed (originally by tame ducks) and trapped.
verb
third-person singular simple present decoys, present participle decoying, simple past and past participle decoyed
1. (transitive) To lead into danger by artifice; to lure into a net or snare; to entrap.
  Quotations
  E'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy, / The heart, distrusting, asks if this be joy.
  1770, [Oliver] Goldsmith, The Deserted Village, a Poem, London: […] W. Griffin, […]
2. (intransitive) To act as, or use, a decoy.