Trojan horse

noun

Definition of Trojan horse

1 : someone or something intended to defeat or subvert from within usually by deceptive means

2 : a seemingly useful computer program that contains concealed instructions which when activated perform an illicit or malicious action (such as destroying data files) also : the concealed instructions of such a program — compare virus sense 3

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Did You Know?

After besieging the walls of Troy for ten years, the Greeks built a huge, hollow wooden horse, secretly filled it with armed warriors, and presented it to the Trojans as a gift for the goddess Athena, and the Trojans took the horse inside the city's walls. That night, the armed Greeks swarmed out and captured and burned the city. A Trojan horse is thus anything that looks innocent but, once accepted, has power to harm or destroy—for example, a computer program that seems helpful but ends up corrupting or demolishing the computer's software.

Examples of Trojan horse in a Sentence

They may be using the other corporation as a Trojan horse.

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Dictionary Entries near Trojan horse

Trojan asteroid

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Cite this Entry

“Trojan horse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Trojan%20horse. Accessed 7 May. 2021.

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More Definitions for Trojan horse

Trojan horse

noun

English Language Learners Definition of Trojan horse

: someone or something that is used to hide what is true or real in order to trick or harm an enemy

computers : a seemingly useful computer program that is actually designed to harm your computer (such as by destroying data files) if you use it

See the full definition for Trojan horse in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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