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• trick or treat
  trick or treat

  noun

  a children's Halloween custom, in which they call on neighbors, using this phrase, and threaten to play a trick if a treat is not given.
• trick-or-treat
  trick-or-treat

  verb (used without object)

  to become involved or take part in trick or treat.

trick or treat

¹ American  

noun

1. a children's Halloween custom, in which they call on neighbors, using this phrase, and threaten to play a trick if a treat is not given.

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trick-or-treat ² American  

[trik-er-treet] / ˈtrɪk ərˈtrit /

verb (used without object)

1. to become involved or take part in trick or treat.

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trick or treat British  

1. the cry by children at Halloween when they call at houses, indicating that they want a present or money or else they will play a trick on the householder

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trick or treat Idioms  

1. A greeting by children asking for treats on Halloween and threatening to play a trick on those who refuse to give them. For example, The children went from house to house, shouting “Trick or treat!” [c. 1940]

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Other Word Forms

• trick-or-treater
  noun

Etymology

Origin of trick or treat¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Origin of trick-or-treat²

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trick or treat trick-or-treat

A mother of an autistic child says her son will be carrying a special blue bucket this year when he goes out to trick or treat this Halloween.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2023

Allowing teens to trick or treat, giving them candy when they ask for it at your door, permits them to have fun without mischief, to run around in the dark for one night without fear.

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2022

Quintenz teaches them how to trick or treat on Halloween and organizes a mouthwatering international Thanksgiving where students arrive with dishes cooked at home.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 25, 2021

This is no year to trick or treat, given that said treat could well be followed by a deadly trick.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2020

These earmuffs have saved me from screechy subway brakes, piercing flutes, gross Noah sounds, trick or treat yells, wishy-washy Deb, and mean Kiki.

From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari

Naturally, it now promotes potatoes as a trick-or-treat option—or “trick-or-tater,” as the association puts it—and suggests any number of Halloween-themed potato recipes, such as one for Devilish Potatoes, a twist on deviled eggs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025

I’d spend hours rummaging through my trick-or-treat bucket, exchanging chocolates for sour candies with my friends.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2025

That packet of raisins in your child’s trick-or-treat bag isn’t necessarily a better option.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2023

Visitors are given trick-or-treat bags that he says can hold four pounds of candy.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 4, 2023

As soon as they’d carried off the boxes the boys had piled up to climb on, they started off after the trick-or-treat group.

From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder