trope

1 of 2

noun

ˈtrōp 

1

a(1)

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

… declaring humans to be animals is a trope that political leaders … have employed for centuries to rally negative sentiment against other people.

—William Schulz

… he does not worry too much about a turn of phrase, the exact figure of speech, the illuminating trope.

—Newgate Callendar

(2)

: cliché

… the tired trope of Democrats as tax-and-spend liberals.

—Charles M. Blow

In his first Inaugural Address, Jefferson sounded a conciliatory, bipartisan note … that "we are all Republicans, we are all Federalists"—a trope copied in many inaugural addresses to follow.

—Sean Wilentz

"Eat healthy!" is a trope we're all used to hearing—and with good reason.

—Emma Gray

b

: a common theme or device (as in the arts) : motif

the usual horror movie tropes

The enemies-to-lovers trope is one of the best in romance.

—Emily Burack

… the song employs the familiar trope of a young woman with big dreams as she leaves the country for the city …

—Jon Freeman

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 of trope

Noun

• cliché
• truism
• commonplace
• platitude
• chestnut

Examples of trope in a Sentence

Noun

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Influential voices on the right, opposed to American involvement in Iran, continue to accuse Israel of manipulating America to do its bidding in the Middle East, echoing the age-old antisemitic trope of Jews pulling the strings of global politics. —Joshua M. Davidson, New York Daily News, 11 May 2026

The 4/4 pulse that runs through much of the album comes without any house or techno tropes. —Will Lynch, Pitchfork, 11 May 2026

Gilbert — who seven years ago headlined this venue himself — smoked a cigar and dipped tobacco simultaneously for much of his set, which luxuriated in country-music-concert tropes. —Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 10 May 2026

When the shepherd is found dead, his gaggle of sheep, armed with the tropes of countless novels, team up to find the killer. —Jack Dunn, Variety, 9 May 2026

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