stratagem
/ˈstɹæt.ə.d͡ʒəm/noun
stratagem is spelled S-T-R-A-T-A-G-E-M: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, stratagem means “A tactic or artifice designed to gain the upper hand, especially one involving underhanded dealings or deception” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of stratagem is stratagems.
How many letters and syllables are in stratagem?
| Letters | 9: S-T-R-A-T-A-G-E-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 60,074th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is stratagem?
Stratagem appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce stratagem?
- US /ˈstɹæt.ə.d͡ʒəm/
Stratagem has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-stratagem.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of stratagem
- stratagems plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does stratagem mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A tactic or artifice designed to gain the upper hand, especially one involving underhanded dealings or deception.
Near-synonyms: ploy, ruse
- 2
Specifically, such a tactic or artifice in military operation.
- 3
Military deception or artifice.
- 4
Cunning and artifice in general.
- 5
obsoleteA violent deed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Stratagem in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tactic:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | stratagème |
| German | Kriegslist, Strategem, Stratagem |
| Portuguese | estratagema, maquinação |
| Spanish | estratagema, trafique |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does stratagem come from?
From Middle English stratageme, from Old French stratageme, from Latin strategema, from Ancient Greek στρατήγημα (stratḗgēma, “the act of a general, a piece of generalship”), from στρατηγέω (stratēgéō, “to be a general, command an army”), from στρατηγός (stratēgós, “a general, the leader or commander of an army”). See strategy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).