trick

American  

[trik] / trɪk /

noun

1. a crafty or underhanded device, maneuver, stratagem, or the like, intended to deceive or cheat; artifice; ruse; wile.

   Synonyms:

   deception

2. an optical illusion.

   It must have been some visual trick caused by the flickering candlelight.

3. a roguish or mischievous act; practical joke; prank.

   She likes to play tricks on her friends.

4. a mean, foolish, or childish action.

5. a clever or ingenious device or expedient; adroit technique.

   the tricks of the trade.

6. the art or knack of doing something skillfully.

   You seem to have mastered the trick of making others laugh.

7. a clever or dexterous feat intended to entertain, amuse, etc..

   He taught his dog some amazing tricks.

8. a feat of magic or legerdemain.

   card tricks.

9. a behavioral peculiarity; trait; habit; mannerism.

10. a period of duty or turn; stint; tour of duty.

    I relieved the pilot after he had completed his trick at the wheel.

11. Cards.

    1. the group or set of cards played and won in one round.

    2. a point or scoring unit.

    3. a card that is a potential winner.

12. Informal. a child or young girl.

    a pretty little trick.

13. Slang.

    1. a prostitute's customer.

    2. a sexual act between a prostitute and a customer.

14. Heraldry.

    1. a preliminary sketch of a coat of arms.

    2. engraver's trick.

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adjective

1. of, pertaining to, characterized by, or involving tricks.

   trick shooting.

2. designed or used for tricks.

   a trick chair.

3. (of a joint) inclined to stiffen or weaken suddenly and unexpectedly.

   a trick shoulder.

verb (used with object)

tricks, present (3rd person singular) tricked, past participle, past tricking present participle

1. to deceive by trickery.

2. Heraldry. to indicate the tinctures of (a coat of arms) with engravers tricks.

3. to cheat or swindle (usually followed byout of ).

   to trick someone out of an inheritance.

4. to beguile by trickery (usually followed byinto ).

verb (used without object)

tricks, present (3rd person singular) tricked, past participle, past tricking present participle

1. to practice trickery or deception; cheat.

2. to play tricks; trifle (usually followed bywith ).

3. Slang. to engage in sexual acts for hire.

verb phrase

1. trick out to embellish or adorn with or as if with ornaments or other attention-getting devices.

idioms

1. do / turn the trick, to achieve the desired effect or result.

   Another turn of the pliers should do the trick.

2. turn a trick, (of a prostitute) to engage in a sexual act with a customer.

trick British  

/ trɪk /

noun

1. a deceitful, cunning, or underhand action or plan

2. 1. a mischievous, malicious, or humorous action or plan; joke

      the boys are up to their tricks again

   2. ( as modifier )

      a trick spider

3. an illusory or magical feat or device

4. a simple feat learned by an animal or person

5. an adroit or ingenious device; knack

   a trick of the trade

6. a behavioural trait, habit, or mannerism

7. a turn or round of duty or work

8. cards

   1. a batch of cards containing one from each player, usually played in turn and won by the player or side that plays the card with the highest value

   2. a card that can potentially win a trick

9. slang to be consistently unsuccessful or unlucky

10. informal to produce the right or desired result

11. slang how are you?

12. slang (of a prostitute) to gain a customer

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verb

1. to defraud, deceive, or cheat (someone), esp by means of a trick

trick More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing trick

• bag of tricks
• confidence game (trick)
• dirty tricks
• do the trick
• hat trick
• how's tricks
• not miss a trick
• teach an old dog new tricks
• that does it (the trick)
• turn a trick
• up to one's old tricks

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Synonym Usage

Trick , artifice , ruse , stratagem , wile are terms for crafty or cunning devices that are intended to deceive. Trick , the general term, refers usually to an underhanded act designed to cheat someone, but it sometimes refers merely to a pleasurable deceiving of the senses: to win by a trick. Like trick , but to a greater degree, artifice emphasizes the cleverness, ingenuity, or cunning with which the proceeding is devised: an artifice of diabolical ingenuity. Ruse and stratagem emphasize the purpose for which the trick is designed; ruse is the more general term of the two, and stratagem sometimes implies a more elaborate procedure or a military application: He gained entrance by a ruse. His stratagem gave them command of the hill. W ile emphasizes the disarming effect of the trick upon those who are deceived: His wiles charmed them into trusting him. See cheat.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• outtrick
  verb (used with object)
• tricker
  noun
• trickless
  adjective
• untricked
  adjective
• trickingly
  adverb

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has tricked
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have tricked
  perfect
• am tricking
  progressive 1st person singular
• has been tricking
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• have been tricking
  perfect progressive
• are tricking
  progressive
• is tricking
  progressive 3rd person singular
• tricking
  participle
• tricks
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had tricked
  perfect
• were tricking
  progressive plural
• had been tricking
  perfect progressive
• was tricking
  progressive singular
• tricked
  participle
• tricked
  simple

Future

• will trick
  simple
• will have tricked
  perfect
• will be tricking
  progressive
• will have been tricking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of trick

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English trik (noun), from Old North French trique “deceit,” derivative of trikier “to deceive,” from Vulgar Latin triccāre (unrecorded), from Latin trīcārī “to play tricks,” derivative of trīcae “hindrances, nonsense, trifles”; alternatively, perhaps from Middle Dutch trecken “to draw, pull” (compare modern Dutch trekken; see trek ( def. ))

Explanation

A trick is a hoax or sneaky scheme. If you fool people into thinking they're donating to a good cause when you're really keeping their money, you're playing a trick on them. It's not nice to trick people. "A mean ruse" is the oldest meaning of trick, which is rooted in the Latin tricari, "be evasive." Today it's also used for less mean-spirited deceptions, including funny practical jokes and a magician's sleight-of-hand illusions, commonly called magic tricks. To trick someone is to fool them, and if you hold a trick in your hand, you're playing bridge, hearts, or another "trick-taking" card game.

Example Sentences

“The psychological trick I would play on myself at each meet was to imagine the water I’d dive into was freezing cold,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

Earlier this week, Meta had to fix an issue which allowed hackers to trick an Instagram AI support tool into giving them access to other users' accounts.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026

Economists believe the U.S. only needs to add 50,000 jobs a month — or even less — to do the trick.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026

But it turned out that general manager Les Snead had yet another trick up his sleeve.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

He didn’t want to offend his friend, but wondered if there wasn’t some trick.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Related Words

• conspiracy
• deception
• device
• distortion
• fraud
• gimmick
• hoax
• illusion
• maneuver
• plot
• ploy
• ruse
• trap