trick

play

noun \ ˈtrik \

Definition of trick

1 a :a crafty procedure or practice meant to deceive or defraud

b :a mischievous act :prank

c :a deceptive, dexterous, or ingenious feat; especially :one designed to puzzle or amuse

a juggler's tricks

d :an indiscreet or childish action

2 a (1) :a quick or artful way of getting a result :knack

the trick is to make it look natural

(2) :an instance of getting a desired result

one small adjustment will do the trick

b :a technical device (as of an art or craft)

the tricks of stage technique

3 a :a delusive appearance especially when caused by art or legerdemain :an optical illusion

a mere trick of the light

b :a habitual peculiarity of behavior or manner

a horse with the trick of shying

c :a characteristic and identifying feature

a trick of speech

4 :the cards played in one round of a card game often used as a scoring unit

5 a :a sexual act performed by a prostitute

turning tricks

; also :john 2

b :shift 4b(1)

c :a trip taken as part of one's employment

d :a turn of duty at the helm usually lasting for two hours

6 :an attractive child or woman

a cute little trick

See trick defined for English-language learners

See trick defined for kids

Examples of trick in a Sentence

It was a trick to persuade her to give him money.
She enjoys playing tricks on her friends.
For his last trick, the magician made a rabbit disappear.

Recent Examples of trick from the Web

Mishawaka got on the board with a couple of trick plays.

— mike hutton, Post-Tribune, "Jesse Harper leads way as Valparaiso gets validation with win over Mishawaka," 26 Aug. 2017
The trick to staying on the board, Smith said, is finding a focal point and concentrating on that while going through the various poses.

— erin hegarty, Naperville Sun, "Paddle board yoga a hit at Naperville's Centennial Beach," 19 Aug. 2017
Lost within an ancient cave, the man and woman started off separate and alone, confronting mind-bending isolation that played tricks on their senses and produced ever-more-disorienting hallucinations. Fumbling and crawling,

— patrick blanchfield, Esquire, "Shot in the Dark," 1 Aug. 2017
Skydogz is a show featuring dogs jumping, doing tricks and catching Frisbees from seemingly impossible angles.

— annie alleman, Wheaton Glen Ellyn, "Cantigny gives dogs their day at August event," 27 July 2017
The greatest trick any politician can pull off is to get his self-interest and his principles in perfect alignment.

— jonah goldberg, National Review, "Is Rand Paul’s Health-Care Stance Really Based on Principle?," 19 July 2017
Includes fabric tail rental, safety seminar, swimming technique, tricks, routines, video, professional photo shoot and certificate of completion.

— courtney ortega, star-telegram, "The Mercademy offers mermaid classes in Fort Worth and surrounding cities," 14 July 2017
Her most recent hat trick: designing the pink topper Lady Gaga wore on the cover of her latest album.

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "Best of LA: 92 of Our Favorite Things to Eat, Do, and Buy Right Now," 14 July 2017
At first, the project was envisioned as an Affleckian hat-trick of sorts, with the Oscar-winner co-writing, helming, and starring in the film.

— yohana desta, HWD, "The Long-Promised Batman Movie Is Moving Forward Without Ben Affleck’s Script," 13 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'trick.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of trick

Middle English trikke, from Anglo-French *trik, from trikier to deceive, cheat, from Vulgar Latin *triccare, alteration of Latin tricari to behave evasively, shuffle, from tricae complications, trifles

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

trick Synonyms

Synonyms

artifice, device, dodge, fetch, flimflam, gambit, gimmick, jig, juggle, knack, play, ploy, scheme, shenanigan, sleight, stratagem, wile, sleight of hand

Related Words

bluff, end run, feint; cheating, chicanery, cozenage, craft, crookery, cunning, deception, dupery, duplicity, fakery, jugglery, legerdemain, skulduggery (or skullduggery), subterfuge, swindling, trickery; fraud, gaff, hoax, sham, swindle; blind, front, smoke screen

Near Antonyms

conformity, sameness

Synonym Discussion of trick

trick, ruse, stratagem, maneuver, artifice, wile, feint mean an indirect means to gain an end. trick may imply deception, roguishness, illusion, and either an evil or harmless end.

- the tricks of the trade

ruse stresses an attempt to mislead by a false impression.

- the ruses of smugglers

stratagem implies a ruse used to entrap, outwit, circumvent, or surprise an opponent or enemy.

- the stratagem-filled game

maneuver suggests adroit and skillful avoidance of difficulty.

- last-minute maneuvers to avert bankruptcy

artifice implies ingenious contrivance or invention.

- the clever artifices of the stage

wile suggests an attempt to entrap or deceive with false allurements.

- used all of his wiles to ingratiate himself

feint implies a diversion or distraction of attention away from one's real intent.

- a feint toward the enemy's left flank

trick

verb

Definition of trick

transitive verb

1 :to deceive by cunning or artifice :cheat

2 :to dress or adorn fancifully or ornately :ornament

tricked out in a gaudy uniform

See trick defined for English-language learners

Examples of trick in a Sentence

He tricked her by wearing a disguise.
you tricked me into thinking my ex wasn't coming to the party tonight

Recent Examples of trick from the Web

Walker County Sheriff Jim Underwood has previously said the group of escapees used peanut butter to cover a door number and tricked a young jailer at 6:30 p.m. that Sunday.

— carol robinson, AL.com, "'Peanut butter jailbreak' escapee's teen sister, her fiance charged with aiding getaway," 23 Aug. 2017
Fake scenes were filmed for season seven to trick paparazzi and more importantly, impatient fans.

— peggy truong, Cosmopolitan, "26 Mind-Blowing Game of Thrones Facts Only a Superfan Would Know," 16 Aug. 2017
Paparazzi began hounding Diana 24-7, even stalking her and her two children on a ski trip and tricking a young Prince Harry into sticking his tongue out for a picture.

— elise taylor, Vogue, "Every Heartbreaking Thing We Learned From The Story of Diana: Part I," 10 Aug. 2017
Williams is accused of tricking them into giving him their bank account information and taking $2,300 from them in April, according to the citation.

— steve jones, The Courier-Journal, "Ex-Louisville player Chris Williams pleads not guilty to theft charges," 4 Aug. 2017
There’s hardly anything magical, though, about tricking my brain into working all night.

— by emily parnell, kansascity, "Stumped? Let your mystical dream self come up with the answers," 5 July 2017
In fact, birth control pills can trick us into thinking all is well, since most girls have a monthly period while on them.

— Cincinnati.com, "Column: Helping female athletes to healthy mind, body," 5 July 2017
Graphics processors, otherwise known as GPUs, have long been the mainstay of personal computers tricked out for gaming.

— dan gallagher, WSJ, "Chip Makers Are Cashing In on Digital Currencies, for Now," 29 June 2017
In addition, Lucas needed someone to play a nameless sandtrooper who is Jedi mind-tricked in the desert by Luke Skywalker's mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by the late Alec Guinness.

— NBC News, "‘Star Wars’ Opened 40 Years Ago: Background Actors Recount How Movie Changed Their Lives," 25 May 2017

First Known Use of trick

circa 1500

trick Synonyms

Synonyms

bamboozle, beguile, bluff, buffalo, burn, catch, con, cozen, delude, dupe, fake out, fool, gaff, gammon, gull, have, have on [chiefly British], hoax, hoodwink, hornswoggle, humbug, juggle, misguide, misinform, mislead, snooker, snow, spoof, string along, sucker, suck in, take in, deceive

Antonyms

undeceive

Related Words

kid, put on, tease; bleed, cheat, chisel, defraud, diddle, euchre, flam, fleece, gyp, hustle, mulct, rook, shortchange, skin, squeeze, stick, sting, swindle

Near Antonyms

debunk, expose, reveal, show up, uncloak, uncover, unmask; disclose, divulge, tell, unveil; disabuse, disenchant, disillusion

trick

adjective

Definition of trick

1 a :of or relating to or involving tricks or trickery

trick photography

trick dice

b :skilled in or used for tricks

a trick horse

2 a :somewhat defective and unreliable

a trick lock

b :inclined to give way unexpectedly

a trick knee

3 :trig

See trick defined for English-language learners

Examples of trick in a Sentence

a trick shot in pool
He has a trick knee.

Recent Examples of trick from the Web

The ‘00s are cool again, right? (Trick question: They, like Britney, have always been cool.)

— kara nesvig, Allure, "The Top 10 Britney Spears Perfumes in Order of Greatness," 23 June 2017

First Known Use of trick

circa 1530

TRICK Defined for English Language Learners

trick

play

noun

Definition of trick for English Language Learners

: an action that is meant to deceive someone
: something done to surprise or confuse someone and to make other people laugh
: a clever and skillful action that someone performs to entertain or amuse people

trick

verb

Definition of trick for English Language Learners

: to deceive (someone)

trick

adjective

Definition of trick for English Language Learners

: using methods that are meant to deceive someone
: done in a clever or entertaining way
: weak and tending to fail suddenly

TRICK Defined for Kids

trick

play

noun \ ˈtrik \

Definition of trick for Students

1 :an action intended to deceive or cheat

2 :a mischievous act :prank

3 :an action designed to puzzle or amuse

a card trick

Mouse was trying to teach me a new yo-yo trick …
—Judy Blume, Sheila the Great

4 :a quick or clever way of doing something

I know a trick for remembering names.

5 :the cards played in one round of a game

trick

verb

Definition of trick for Students

tricked; tricking

:to deceive with tricks

trick

adjective

Definition of trick for Students

:relating to or involving actions intended to deceive or puzzle

We scored a touchdown on a trick play.

Learn More about trick

See words that rhyme with trick Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for trick Spanish Central: Translation of trick Nglish: Translation of trick for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of trick for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about trick

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trick

Definition of trick

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trick Synonyms

Synonyms

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Near Antonyms

trick

Definition of trick

Examples of trick in a Sentence

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TRICK Defined for English Language Learners

trick

Definition of trick for English Language Learners

trick

Definition of trick for English Language Learners

trick

Definition of trick for English Language Learners

TRICK Defined for Kids

trick

Definition of trick for Students

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Definition of trick for Students

trick

Definition of trick for Students

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