Main Entry:

Trojan horse

Function:

noun

Etymology:

from the large hollow wooden horse filled with Greek soldiers and introduced within the walls of Troy by a stratagem

Date:

1837

1: someone or something intended to defeat or subvert from within usually by deceptive means2: a seemingly useful computer program that contains concealed instructions which when activated perform an illicit or malicious action (as destroying data files) ; also : the concealed instructions of such a program — compare virus