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Deke originated as a shortened form of decoy. American writer Ernest Hemingway used deke as a noun referring to hunting decoys in a number of his works, including his 1950 novel Across the River and into the Trees ("I offered to put the dekes out with him"). In the 1940s, deke began appearing in ice-hockey contexts in Canadian print sources in reference to the act of faking an opponent out of position—much like how decoy is used for luring one into a trap. Today, deke has scored in many other sports, including baseball, basketball, soccer, and football. It has also occasionally checked its way into more general usage to refer to deceptive or evasive moves or actions.
Examples of deke in a Sentence
Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 29 Oct. 2025
Nichushkin deked to the left of Lyon, but held onto the puck before slipping it to a cutting Makar for a tap-in at 4:32 of the second.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 13 Oct. 2025
The forward deked past the goaltender, backhanded the puck into the net and then slid into the boards.
—Peter Baugh, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
The body language of Alvarez there, just deked him.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 19 July 2025
Sometimes that’s why creative elects to deke viewers only to spring a swerve during an unexpected time.
—Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
The insurance goal finally came with 7:50 left to play when Sam Bennett won a race for a loose puck, dangled the puck on his stick, deked Woll in front of the net and fired a shot into the net.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 12 May 2025
After defenseman Aaron Ekblad forced a turnover, Bennett won a race for a loose puck, deked Woll and sunk his shot with 7:50 left in the third period.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2025
Dreyer deked Seattle defender Jonathan Bell, cutting back on the run and then dumping the ball off to a streaking Godoy.
—Kyle Kensing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deke. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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