triumph
Americannoun
-
triumphs
plural
-
the act, fact, or condition of being victorious or triumphant; victory; conquest.
- Synonyms:
- success
-
a significant success or noteworthy achievement; instance or occasion of victory.
-
exultation resulting from victory; joy over success.
- Synonyms:
- celebration, jubilation
-
Roman History. the ceremonial entrance into Rome of a victorious commander with his army, spoils of war, and captives, authorized by the senate in honor of an important military or naval victory.
-
a public pageant, spectacle, or the like.
verb (used without object)
-
triumphs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
triumphed,
past participle, past
-
triumphing
present participle
-
to gain a victory; be victorious; win.
- Synonyms:
- succeed
-
to gain mastery; prevail.
to triumph over fear.
-
to be successful; achieve success.
-
to exult over victory; rejoice over success.
-
to be elated or glad; rejoice proudly; glory.
-
to celebrate a triumph, as a victorious Roman commander.
verb (used with object)
-
triumphs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
triumphed,
past participle, past
-
triumphing
present participle
noun
-
the feeling of exultation and happiness derived from a victory or major achievement
-
the act or condition of being victorious; victory
-
(in ancient Rome) a ritual procession to the Capitoline Hill held in honour of a victorious general
-
obsolete a public display or celebration
-
cards an obsolete word for trump 1
verb
-
(often foll by over) to win a victory or control
to triumph over one's weaknesses
-
to rejoice over a victory
-
to celebrate a Roman triumph
Usage
What does triumph mean? To triumph is to win, succeed, or be victorious in an epic or spectacular way. Sometimes, it means to conquer. In this case, it’s often used with the word over. An army can triumph over enemy forces. In stories, good triumphs over evil. A person might be said to triumph over cancer. Triumph is especially used in situations in which victory or success has come after great difficulty, adversity, or sacrifice, or over an opponent considered difficult to defeat. Triumph is also commonly used as a noun meaning an especially significant or noteworthy victory or success, as in Their championship was a triumph—a win that places them among the all-time greats. A person’s moment of triumph is the moment when they finally achieve victory or success. Triumph can refer to the state of winning or being victorious, as in They returned to their hometown in triumph, entering to the cheers of the adoring crowd. Sometimes, triumph refers to the state of joy or celebration following a victory or success that is considered a triumph, as in A feeling of triumph filled her as she realized she had won the election. Triumph can also be used to refer to something that is a great achievement, as in Her latest novel is her greatest triumph—a masterpiece in every way. The adjective triumphant means experiencing, celebrating, or having achieved a triumph. The adjective triumphal means involving, relating to, or celebrating a triumph. Example: We will not rest until we reach our moment of triumph—when we finally triumph over the forces of evil.
Synonym Usage
See victory.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
triumphsimple
-
triumphssimple
-
have triumphedperfect
-
has triumphedperfect
-
am triumphingprogressive
-
are triumphingprogressive
-
is triumphingprogressive
-
have been triumphingperfect progressive
-
has been triumphingperfect progressive
Past
-
triumphedsimple
-
had triumphedperfect
-
was triumphingprogressive
-
were triumphingprogressive
-
had been triumphingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of triumph
First recorded before 900; Middle English triumphe (noun), Old English triumpha, from Latin triump(h)us, perhaps from Etruscan, from Greek thríambos “hymn to Dionysus”
Explanation
A triumph is a well-earned victory. It'll make you pump your fist and yell "Hurrah!" Triumph can be a noun or a verb, so you can have a triumph after the big game when you triumph over your opponents. Either way, it's a way to rejoice and a reason to whoop it up. The word comes from the Latin triumphus which is an "achievement, success, procession for a victorious general or admiral." The jury's still out on whether it comes from the Greek thriambos, as a "hymn to Dionysus," but it's fun to imagine that a triumph is a song to the Greek god of party animals. Fittingly, a Triumph is also the name of a motorcycle, a cool car, and a hard rockin' band from Canada.
Vocabulary lists containing triumph
Emotions on Display
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"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Two-time defending champion Sabalenka returns to New York with a 17-7 win-loss record since the Miami triumph, including a chastening French Open quarter-final exit and a disheartening defeat in the Wimbledon fourth round.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
The Blues endured a dismal campaign following that triumph, finishing 10th in the Premier League and ending the season without a trophy and failing to qualify for Europe.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Ultimately, however, Attiah’s triumph over The Washington Post was not a First Amendment ruling.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
The JSerra Girls Flag Football team stretched its season-opening winning streak to eight straight games with a resounding 41-6 triumph over the Edison Chargers in a nonleague battle on Thursday at JSerra Catholic High School.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Madame Babushkinov held the ring aloft in triumph, as the confused general and her equally confused husband stood nearby.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
The pair won the 2010 World Cup and two European Championships with Spain, along with domestic league and cup triumphs when they both joined Real Madrid after Liverpool.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
British and Swedish exercises have also resulted in easy Ukrainian triumphs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
One of Odysseus’ defining triumphs becomes, in Nolan’s telling, something closer to an original sin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Anderson, the man behind such cinematic triumphs as the “Resident Evil” film franchise and “Alien vs. Predator,” both directors knew exactly how to push Neill to his most frightening limits.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
“That’s one of the great engineering triumphs of Aztlan,” Carlos said proudly.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
But despite that lack of résumé, Graham triumphed on Tuesday.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
Spain triumphed in a battle of endurance, for players and spectators, to beat the Argentines and win their second men's World Cup.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Two or three years after “talking pictures” were introduced to the general public in 1927, they had triumphed absolutely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Mexico lost to England 3-2 in the World Cup Sunday night, yet thousands of Mexican Americans across Southern California took to the streets as if their team had triumphed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
If we let these tragedies become growth experiences, if we learn from them, then we have in some way triumphed over the fear and anger and sorrow that death brings.
From "Tears of a Tiger" by Sharon M. Draper
While Osaka was away, Sabalenka finally had her breakthrough moment, triumphing at the 2023 Australian Open for her first Grand Slam title.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
The Knicks ended up triumphing 130-93, a victory that sent the team to the NBA finals for the first time in 27 years.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
The team won a 6-foot aluminum pole, among other prizes, for triumphing in a Festivus-themed trivia contest last December.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
This kind of narrowing of the acceptable realm of conversation may have briefly led to a feeling that once marginalized groups were triumphing.
From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2026
I started triumphing over players I had once been trampled by.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
