Trophy

//ˈtɹoʊfi// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An object, usually in the form of a statuette, cup, or shield, awarded for success in a competition or to mark a special achievement.

    "He won the trophy in a running competition."

  2. 2
    something given as a token of victory wordnet
  3. 3
    An object taken as a prize by a hunter, or a conqueror or belligerent, especially one that is displayed.

    "The set of antlers which hung on the wall was his prized trophy."

  4. 4
    an award for success in war or hunting wordnet
  5. 5
    Any emblem of success; a status symbol.

    "His trophies included his second wife, his successful children, the third and fourth homes in Palm Beach and Malibu, and his three yachts."

Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    An object taken by a serial killer or rapist as a memento of the crime. broadly
  2. 7
    A tropæum. Ancient-Rome, historical
  3. 8
    A display of weaponry and other militaria, often captured from a defeated enemy, as an ornament designed for the purpose of triumphalist display by a victor or as a show of military prowess by a monarch.

    "The souvenirs which many killers retain of their victims are often described as trophies, and Norman Bates's taxidermic interests derived from the real-life Ed Gein."

  4. 9
    An artifact or artwork that has been stolen by a criminal and traded on the black market.
  5. 10
    An animal killed by a trophy hunter that usually has its parts sold on the black market.
Verb
  1. 1
    To adorn (someone) with trophies. transitive

    "How many a night serene, shall I behold / Those vvarm attractive orbits, close inshrined / In ether, over vvhich Love's column rose / Marmoreal, trophied round vvith golden hair."

  2. 2
    To win a trophy in a competition. intransitive

    "He trophied at the 1993, 1994, 2012 and 2015 National Championships and was most proud of winning his class at the 2017 Spring Nationals."

Synonyms

All synonyms
prizeachievementambitionarchawardbarrow

Example

More examples

"The manager bestowed a trophy on him."

Etymology

From Middle French trophée, from Latin trophaeum (“a sign of victory, a monument”), tropaeum, from Ancient Greek τρόπαιον (trópaion, “monument of an enemy's defeat”), from neuter of τροπαῖος (tropaîos, “of defeat”), from τροπή (tropḗ, “a rout, a turning of an enemy”).

Related phrases

fuck trophygovernment trophyparticipation trophytrophy boyfriendtrophy casetrophy girlfriendtrophy hunttrophy huntingtrophy husbandtrophy moneytrophy partnertrophy room

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.