diff --git a/plugins/lookup/merge_variables.py b/plugins/lookup/merge_variables.py
index 23ec818251..c56a2d36f1 100644
--- a/plugins/lookup/merge_variables.py
+++ b/plugins/lookup/merge_variables.py
@@ -464,6 +464,7 @@ class DictMergeStrategies(MergeStrategies):
 
     strategies = {
         "deep": Merge,
+        "merge": Merge,
         "replace": BaseMergeStrategies.Replace,
         "keep": BaseMergeStrategies.Keep,
     }