trick

1 of 3

noun

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 sense 2
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

trick

2 of 3

verb

tricked; tricking; tricks

transitive verb

: to deceive by cunning or artifice : cheat see also trick out

trick

3 of 3

adjective

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
Choose the Right Synonym for 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

Examples of trick in a Sentence

Noun 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. Verb He tricked her by wearing a disguise. you tricked me into thinking my ex wasn't coming to the party tonight Adjective a trick shot in pool He has a trick knee. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Customers were able to shop the rails and get invaluable styling tips and tricks from the editors themselves. Vogue, 19 Sep. 2023 Others say that Roman’s sildenafil works exactly as prescribed, with no tricks and awesome results. Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 15 Sep. 2023 Tips and tricks for our readers Welcome: A Letter from Reading by 9 The other day, my 4-year old son came bounding into the house from the school and begged me to write down a new word for him: galumphing. Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2023 Working with Everett, who has produced and engineered for indie bands but also SZA and Kacey Musgraves, was just the trick for dialing up the intensity. Eric Torres, Pitchfork, 14 Sep. 2023 PBMs are complex and shadowy enough to do the trick. Lauren Larson, Men's Health, 7 Sep. 2023 To emulate Logan’s interior aesthetic, invest in sculptural pieces—lamps, furniture, and decorative items will do the trick—and steer clear of bright colors. Abby Wilson, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Sep. 2023 But using financial engineering to deny shareholders a vote in a huge, controversial merger that dilutes their stake will do the trick. Jon Sindreu, WSJ, 6 Sep. 2023 Moving the data to a server with more capacity did the trick. David Meyer, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2023
Verb
Cybercriminals are at it again with a new phishing scam that involves trying to trick you into clicking on images that look like invoices, receipts, or other documents. Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 6 Sep. 2023 The comedy focuses on the manager of a post office in northwest Italy who is transferred to a sleepy town in the southern Campania region as punishment for trying to trick the agency into giving him a plum assignment in Milan. Joey Morona, cleveland, 28 Aug. 2023 His parents had tricked him into going home to get him out of danger’s way. Casey Schwartz, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2023 In other words, the tape uses elastic tension to hold your lips together which then tricks your brain into transferring to nasal breathing. Melanie Rud, Peoplemag, 17 Aug. 2023 All of these have tricked the computer into thinking there was a fire. Thomas Fuller, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Aug. 2023 Scammers are pretending to be from Geek Squad, the company's tech-support arm, and tricking people into handing over their personal information. USA TODAY, 23 Aug. 2023 The former football player claimed the Tuohy family members made millions of dollars off business deals after tricking him into becoming his conservators. Asher Notheis, Washington Examiner, 17 Aug. 2023 Oher says the couple tricked him into signing a conservatorship shortly after turning 18. Vulture, 16 Aug. 2023
Adjective
My idea was not to get too trick-sy with it, to keep it at a fairly simple visual level. Corey S Powell, Discover Magazine, 5 Nov. 2014 As Halloween approaches, investors seem fearful that good credit performance may be more trick than treat. Telis Demos, WSJ, 21 Oct. 2022 If the high cost of it all is more trick than treat for you, here are several ways to turn your already smart home into a spook-tacularly genius haunted house. Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, 28 Oct. 2021 And arguably, given the variety of cask types used by the distillery, Angel’s Envy is actually a multi-trick pony. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 11 June 2021 The ‘00s are cool again, right? (Trick question: They, like Britney, have always been cool.) Kara Nesvig, Allure, 23 June 2017 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'trick.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1631, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

circa 1530, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of trick was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near trick

Cite this Entry

“Trick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trick. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023.

Kids Definition

trick

1 of 3 noun
1
a
: an action meant to deceive or cheat
b
: a mischievous act : prank
c
: an unwise or childish action
d
: a skillful or clever feat designed to puzzle or amuse
a juggler's tricks
2
: a habitual peculiarity of behavior or manner
a trick of speech
3
a
: a quick or artful way of getting a result : knack
the trick is to do it quickly
b
: an instance of getting a desired result
one small adjustment will do the trick
4
: a technical device (as of an art or craft)
tricks of the trade
5
: the cards played in one round of a card game

trick

2 of 3 verb
1
: to deceive with tricks : cheat
2
: to dress or decorate especially oddly or ornately
tricked out in a gaudy uniform

trick

3 of 3 adjective
1
a
: of or relating to or involving tricks or trickery
trick photography
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

More from Merriam-Webster on trick

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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