gimmick

Definitions


[ˈɡɪmɪk], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or trade
(e.g: it is not so much a programme to improve services as a gimmick to gain votes)

- a night out with friends
(e.g: I had just come from a gimmick that lasted until the early hours of the following day)


Phrases:

Origin:
1920s (originally US): of unknown origin but possibly an approximate anagram of magic, the original sense being ‘a piece of magicians' apparatus’


[ˈɡɪmɪk], (Verb)

Definitions:
- alter or augment with an extra device or feature
(e.g: it was using software that had been specially gimmicked to allow for easier surveillance)


Phrases:

Origin:
1920s (originally US): of unknown origin but possibly an approximate anagram of magic, the original sense being ‘a piece of magicians' apparatus’




definition by Oxford Dictionaries