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

Car chases were as reliable a trope as the maverick officer with his own moral code mouthing off to superiors, or the battle-scarred veteran who’s seen it all and just wants to eat donuts and make it to retirement. —Maris Kreizman, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2025

Federal prosecutors offered no rebuttal, which brought the day to an end with the trope of a whimper not a legal bang. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 24 June 2025

The Second World War and the Red Scare drove him toward a quasi-mystical visual language, more Marc Chagall than Diego Rivera, that relied on a growing menu of tropes: masks, rubble, blind people, flames. —Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 24 June 2025

The Vivienne Westwood collection will have all the tropes of the dandy with a strong focus on tailoring and distinct pieces, but Kronthaler is taking it one step further by adding an element of fluidness. —Hikmat Mohammed, Footwear News, 20 June 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