Word.ws English Dictionary

trick

/ˈtɹɪk/

trick noun: something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle.

Noun

trick (plural tricks)

  1. Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle.
    • It was just a trick to say that the house was underpriced.
    • He played a trick on his sister as April Fool's Day.
    Synonyms:
    artifice
  2. 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.
  3. An entertaining difficult physical action.
    • That's a nice skateboard, but can you do any tricks on it?
    • Yo-yo tricks involving sleeping the yo-yo (like "walking the dog" and "rocking the baby") cannot be performed in space.1995, All Aboard for Space: Introducing Space to Youngsters, page 158
  4. An effective, clever or quick way of doing something.
    • tricks of the trade; what's the trick of getting this chair to fold up?
    • Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
  5. Mischievous or annoying behavior; a prank.
    • the tricks of boys
    • They played a crude trick on the teacher.
  6. (dated) A particular habit or manner; a peculiarity; a trait.
    • a trick of drumming with the fingers; a trick of frowning
    • He hath a trick of Cœur de Lion's face.c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  7. 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 tricks1601, Ben Jonson, Poetaster or The Arraignment: […], London: […] [R. Bradock] for M[atthew] L[ownes] […], published 1602, →OCLC, (please specify the page), (please specify the scene number in...
  8. 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.
    • And now (as oft in some distemper'd state) / On one nice trick depends the gen'ral fate!1712, Alexander Pope, “Canto III”, in The Rape of the Lock, lines 93–94; republished in The Complete Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1902, page 94
  9. (Canada, US, slang) A sex act, chiefly one performed for payment; an act of prostitution.
    • turn a trick
    • turn tricks
  10. (slang) A customer or client of a prostitute.
    • As the businessman rounded the corner, she thought, "Here comes another trick."
    • Across 110th street / Woman trying to catch a trick on the street, ooh baby / Across 110th Street / You can find it all in the street1972, Bobby Womack, “Across 110th Street”, in Across 110th Street
  11. (slang, vulgar) A term of abuse.
  12. (Pennsylvania, Western) A daily period of work, especially in shift-based jobs.
    • 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.1885, Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen, The Conductor and Brakeman, page 496
    • Woodside Junction—On 8 hour basis, first trick $60, second trick $60, third trick $50.1899, New York (State), Bureau of Statistics, Deptartment of Labor, Annual Report
    Synonyms:
    shift
Show 3 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. 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.1902, John Masefield, Sea Fever
  2. (obsolete) A toy; a trifle; a plaything.
    • 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, […]1599, [anonymous], “When as Thine Eye hath Chose the Dame”, in The Passionate Pilgrime. […], 2nd edition, London: […] [Thomas Judson] for W[illiam] Iaggard, and are to be sold by W[illiam] Leake...
  3. 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.1892, George Gatfield, Guide to Printed Books and Manuscripts Relating to English and Foreign Heraldry, page 12
    • The trick […] might be meant for a lion passant or for one rampant embelif […]2009, Thomas Daniel Tremlett, Hugh Stanford London, Rolls of Arms, Henry III., page 132

Verb

trick (third-person singular simple present tricks, present participle tricking, simple past and past participle tricked)

  1. (transitive) To fool; to cause to believe something untrue; to deceive.
    • You tried to trick me when you said that house was underpriced.
    • I was once tricked into believing I had left my phone in the locker.
  2. 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...c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
    • They forget that they are in the statutes: […] there they are trick'd, they and their pedigrees.1601, Ben Jonson, Poetaster or The Arraignment: […], London: […] [R. Bradock] for M[atthew] L[ownes] […], published 1602, →OCLC, Act I
  3. 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.1624, Henry Wotton, “The Seate, and the Worke”, in The Elements of Architecture, […], London: […] Iohn Bill, →OCLC, I. part, page 38
    • Tricking up their children in fine clothes.1693, [John Locke], “(please specify the section number)”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    mod
  4. To engage in prostitution or casual sex.
    • […] 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.1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure
    • You trick for other people, you cheat me out of money, and then when you need a favour, you come back to me.1980, Paul Schrader, American Gigolo, spoken by Anne (Nina van Pallandt)

Adjective

trick (comparative tricker, superlative trickest)

  1. Involving trickery or deception.
    • trick photography
  2. Able to perform tricks.
    • A trick pony
  3. Defective or unreliable.
    • a trick knee
  4. (US, slang) Stylish or cool.
    • Wow, your new sportscar is so trick.

trick meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

trick in Hindi

something designed to fool
चाल cāl
to fool; to cause to believe something untrue
बहकाना bahkānā

trick in Tamil

வித்தை, சூட்சுமம், சூழ்ச்சி, தந்திரம்

trick in Urdu

trick, deception, artifice
فن fan
trick
دم dam

trick in Bengali

trick, stratagem
কৌশল kōuśol
trick
পেঁচ pẽc
More languagesFewer languages
trick in Telugu
జిత్తు jittu, కనికట్టు kanikaṭṭu, ఇంద్రజాలం indrajālaṁ
trick in Malayalam
പറ്റിക്കുക paṟṟikkuka, ചുരുട്ട് curuṭṭŭ, വഞ്ചന vañcana, ഉപായം upāyaṁ
trick in Kannada
ಸಂಚು, ತೋಡು, ಕೈಚಳಕ, ಚಮತ್ಕಾರ
trick in Punjabi
دا dā, ਦਾ dā, ਧੋਖਾ dhokhā, ਪੱਤਾ pattā
trick in Sanskrit
उपाय upāya, युक्ति yukti, योग yóga
trick in Nepali
खेल khel
trick in Arabic
حِيلَة ḥīla
trick in Malay
daya, perdaya
trick in Indonesian
muslihat, kecohan, sulap, sunglap
trick in Persian
حقه hoqqe, نیرنگ neyrang, ترفند tarfand
trick in Vietnamese
lừa, bịp

Examples of trick in a sentence

  • The trick of that voice I do well remember.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First...
  • Learning how to perform tricks takes only a few minutes.1988, John H. Lindquist, Misdemeanor Crime: Trivial Criminal Pursuit, page 43:
  • "How did you get into all this?" "I started doing tricks when I was young and I don't mean the magic circle.2010, Richard Gill, Paloma Azul, page 139:
  • When he later asked her to strip and perform tricks for him, she refused, and he chased her away.2019, Julie S. Draskoczy, Belomor: Criminality and Creativity in Stalin’s Gulag:

All 40 example sentences with trick

Synonyms of trick

25 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of trick

Forms of trick

Noun
pluraltricks
Verb
third-person singular presenttricks
present participletricking
past participletricked
pasttricked
Adjective
comparativetricker
superlativetrickest

Past tense of trick: tricked

Plural of trick: tricks

Origin of trick

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...

Words formed from trick

Phrases with trick

34 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with trick

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about trick

What does trick mean?
Trick means something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle.
What is trick in Hindi?
Trick in Hindi is चाल (cāl), बहकाना (bahkānā). See Trick meaning in Hindi.
How do you use trick in a sentence?
The trick of that voice I do well remember.
What part of speech is trick?
Trick can be a noun, a verb or an adjective.
How do you pronounce trick?
Trick is pronounced /ˈtɹɪk/.
What is the plural of trick?
The plural of trick is tricks.

Words near trick in the dictionary

  1. triciribine
  2. tricistronic
  3. tricitrate
  4. tricitrates
  5. tricity
  6. trick
  7. trick cyclist
  8. trick cyclists
  9. trick mode
  10. Trick Night
  11. trick of the light

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: trick (page history and authors); trick (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); دم (Urdu) (page history and authors); কৌশল (Bengali) (page history and authors); ഉപായം (Malayalam) (page history and authors); trick (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); دا (Punjabi) (page history and authors); उपाय (Sanskrit) (page history and authors); खेल (Nepali) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-trick.ogg.

Cite this entry: “trick.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/trick. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.