What does "trick" mean?
Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle.
Trick
/tɹɪk/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle.
- Grammar: trick is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: con, deception, illusion, ploy.
- Useful contrasts: candor, conceal, difficulty.
- Usage evidence: Mike played a bad trick on his brother.
How to use "trick"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "trick" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "trick" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "trick" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "trick" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "con" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "trick", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle.
"It was just a trick to say that the house was underpriced."
- 2 an illusory feat; considered magical by naive observers wordnet
- 3 A single element of a magician's (or any variety entertainer's) act; a magic trick.
"And for my next trick, I will pull a wombat out of a duffel bag."
- 4 a cunning or deceitful action or device wordnet
- 5 An entertaining difficult physical action.
"That's a nice skateboard, but can you do any tricks on it?"
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 a ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement wordnet
- 7 An effective, clever or quick way of doing something.
"tricks of the trade; what's the trick of getting this chair to fold up?"
- 8 an attempt to get you to do something foolish or imprudent wordnet
- 9 Mischievous or annoying behavior; a prank.
"the tricks of boys"
- 10 (card games) in a single round, the sequence of cards played by all the players; the high card is the winner wordnet
- 11 A particular habit or manner; a peculiarity; a trait. dated
"a trick of drumming with the fingers; a trick of frowning"
- 12 a prostitute's customer wordnet
- 13 A knot, braid, or plait of hair.
"I cannot tell , but it stirs me more than all your court curls , or your spangles , or your tricks"
- 14 a period of work or duty wordnet
- 15 A sequence in which each player plays a card and a winning play is determined.
"I was able to take the second trick with the queen of hearts."
- 16 A sex act, chiefly one performed for payment; an act of prostitution. slang
"turn a trick"
- 17 A customer or client of a prostitute. slang
"As the businessman rounded the corner, she thought, "Here comes another trick.""
- 18 A term of abuse. slang, vulgar
- 19 A daily period of work, especially in shift-based jobs. Pennsylvania, Western
"On third trick from 12 m. to 8 am, we have W. A. White, formerly operator at Wallula, who thus far has given general satisfaction."
- 20 A sailor's spell of work at the helm, usually two hours long.
"I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife; And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over."
- 21 A toy; a trifle; a plaything. obsolete
"The vviles and guiles that vvomen vvorke, / Diſſembled vvith an outvvard ſhevv: / The tricks and toyes that in them lurke, / The Cock that treads thẽ [them] ſhall not knovv, […]"
- 22 A representation of arms that is drawn as an outline with labels to indicate colors.
"Heraldic Collections of various Heralds and others, containing Arms blazoned and in trick, grants of arms, pedigrees, etc."
Verb
- 1 To fool; to cause to believe something untrue; to deceive. transitive
"You tried to trick me when you said that house was underpriced."
- 2 deceive somebody wordnet
- 3 To draw (as contrasted with to blazon, which is to describe in words).
"The rugged Pyrrhus, he whose sable arms, / Black as his purpose, did the night resemble / When he lay couched in the ominous horse, / Hath now this dread and black complexion smear'd / With heraldry more dismal; head to foot / Now is he total gules; horridly trick'd / With blood of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons […]"
- 4 To dress; to decorate; to adorn fantastically; often followed by up, off, or out.
"[T]his Pillar [the "Compounded Order"] is nothing in effect, but a Medlie, or an Amaſſe of all the precedent Ornaments, making a nevv kinde, by ſtealth, and though the moſt richly tricked, yet the pooreſt in this, that he is a borrovver of all his Beautie."
- 5 To engage in prostitution or casual sex.
"1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure […] and suddenly it was Maryellin, he & I in the bed. The guy was tall, lean & hard. Absolutely lovely body. For me, it was like my old tricking days."
Adjective
- 1 Involving trickery or deception.
"trick photography"
- 2 Able to perform tricks.
"A trick pony"
- 3 Defective or unreliable.
"a trick knee"
- 4 Stylish or cool. US, slang
"Wow, your new sportscar is so trick."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Mike played a bad trick on his brother."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "trick"?
Common synonyms include: con, deception, illusion, ploy, a device, aberration.
How do you use "trick" in a sentence?
Mike played a bad trick on his brother.
How do you pronounce "trick"?
Pronounced /tɹɪk/.
Etymology
From Middle English trikke, from Old Northern French trique (related to Old French trichier (“to defraud, act dishonestly, conceal, deceive, cheat”); > modern French tricher), itself possibly from Middle High German trechen (“to launch a shot at, play a trick on”), or one of its derivatives (e.g. Middle High German ūftrechen (“to do something to someone, hurt someone”), vertrechen (“to conceal, get over on someone”), zuotrechen (“to obtain falsely or deceitfully, wangle, finagle”), etc.); yet the Old French verb is equally likely to be derived from Vulgar Latin *triccāre, from Late Latin tricāre, from Latin trīcor, trīcārī (“dodge, search for detours; haggle, quibble”). The term has been connected to Middle Dutch treck, trec (“draw, line, desire, game move, cord, stratagem, ruse, trick”), from Middle Dutch trekken, trēken (“to pull, place, put, move”), from Old Dutch *trekken, *trekan (“to move, drag”), from Proto-Germanic *trakjaną, *trekaną (“to drag, scrape, pull”), from Proto-Indo-European *dreg- (“to drag, scrape”). If they are related, trick would be cognate with Low German trekken, Middle High German trecken, trechen, Danish trække, and Old Frisian trekka, Romanian truc and other Romance languages. Compare track, treachery, trig, and trigger.