trope

1 of 2

noun

ˈtrōp 

1

a

: a word or expression used in a figurative sense : figure of speech

b

: a common or overused theme or device : cliché

the usual horror movie tropes

2

: a phrase or verse added as an embellishment or interpolation to the sung parts of the Mass in the Middle Ages

-trope

2 of 2

noun combining form

: body characterized by (such) a state

allotrope

Synonyms

Noun

• cliche
• cliché
• truism

Examples of trope in a Sentence

Noun

a screenplay that reads like a catalog of mystery-thriller tropes

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Blending thriller, drama and romance tropes coated in an overall ironic tone, the film marks the directorial debut of Rampoldi, who is a prominent Italian screenwriter. —Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025

Despite the novel’s use of the unreliable female narrator trope, Stone wanted to avoid that altogether. —Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Oct. 2025

Most women fall somewhere in between those two tropes, and for years feminists like Strauss have been working to do away with that false binary. —Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025

Much more was delivered as the collection unfolded, bringing the style tropes and the histories of the house into a fresh, even disruptive sophistication and a contemporaneity that returned Coco Chanel as the point of reference all at once. —Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Latin tropus "figure of speech" (Medieval Latin, "embellishment to the sung parts of the Mass"), borrowed from Greek trópos "turn, way, manner, style, figurative expression," noun derivative from the base of trépein "to turn," probably going back to Indo-European *trep-, whence also Sanskrit trapate "(s/he) is ashamed, becomes perplexed," Hittite te-ri-ip-zi "(s/he) ploughs"

Note: Also compared is Latin trepit, glossed as vertit "(s/he) turns," but as this form is only attested in the lexicon of the grammarian Sextus Pompeius Festus, it may be a reconstruction based on the Greek word. The word tropes (genitive case) in the Old English translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History is an isolated instance; the word was reborrowed from Latin or Greek in the 16th century.

Noun combining form

borrowed from Greek -tropos "turned, directed, living (in the manner indicated)," adjective derivative of trópos "turn, way, manner, style" — more at trope

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for trope

• cope
• dope
• grope
• lope
• mope
• nope
• antelope
• bronchoscope
• cantaloupe
• cystoscope
• endoscope
• envelope