Rope-a-dope Definition

rōpə-dōp

adjective

Relating to or being a strategy in boxing in which one fighter covers up and often leans back against the ropes to allow the opponent to become exhausted by throwing punches so that the opponent cannot defend effectively late in the fight and is thus defeated.

American Heritage

Relating to or being a strategy in which one behaves passively or with little aggression until an opportune moment arises for successful action.

American Heritage

noun

A rope-a-dope strategy or course of action.

American Heritage

(boxing) A technique in which the boxer assumes a defensive stance against the ropes and absorbs an opponent's blows, hoping to exploit eventual tiredness or a mistake.

Wiktionary

(figuratively) Any strategy where an apparently losing position is assumed in the hope of eventual victory.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Rope-a-dope

Noun

Singular:

rope-a-dope

Plural:

rope-a-dopes

Origin of Rope-a-dope

Coined by Muhammad Ali in reference to his strategy in defeating the younger George Foreman for the heavyweight title in 1974

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
See Rope-a-dope.

From Wiktionary