cat's-paw

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

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cat's-paw
Noun
  • Anthony-Brown was fortunate to secure a lease in one of the neighborhood's most architecturally significant landmarks, the art deco-style Paramount Square Building, which opened in 1931 but has been vacant since its last tenant, a pawn shop, shuttered in 2005.
    Keith Pandolfi, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
  • The guitar would later turn up in a Las Vegas pawn shop.
    Melonee Hurt, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
Noun
  • And Marcus Wheatland, known as the doctor of the swells, was a medical practitioner and a pioneer of X-rays as a diagnostic tool.
    Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 8 July 2025
  • For many, this trend is both logical and necessary: the skill sets, tools and time required to defend against modern threats are out of reach for many lean internal teams.
    Nolan Garrett, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Cat's-paw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cat%27s-paw. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

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