Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Finesse \Fi*nesse"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Finessed}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Finessing}.]
   1. To use artifice or stratagem. --Goldsmith.

   2. (Whist Playing) To attempt, when second or third player,
      to make a lower card answer the purpose of a higher, when
      an intermediate card is out, risking the chance of its
      being held by the opponent yet to play.