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
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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:
Manager Sarina Wiegman called the midfielder a "warrior" after her performance against Greece helped seal an impressive 5-0 victory to complete an 8-1 aggregate triumph.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Zheng underwent elbow surgery last year and had struggled with form and fitness over the past 12 months, before a recent upturn led to her triumph in Beijing.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Ditka and the team brought triumph to Chicago in Super Bowl XX in New Orleans with a 46-10 win against the New England Patriots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Fleck announced that the triumph over the Wolverines was the “best day” of his life besides his marriage and the birth of his children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
“True triumph would be to move on and heal.”
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
As Mona discovers, the stumbles are as important as the triumphs.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
He frequently wrote Facebook posts about Rasuwagadhi’s trials and triumphs, and wanted to revive it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
As a situation comedy, its characters will spend their days and nights getting in and out of scrapes, enduring self-inflicted humiliations, experiencing minor triumphs; they are all a little stupid, and a little smart.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Sabalenka's four Grand Slam singles titles - two Australian Open and two US Open triumphs, all on hard courts - are more than most players can dream of.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
“But are you sure you are not in the position of those conquerors whose triumphs have cost them too dear? Would not such another ruin you?”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
The film triumphed despite poor reviews and audience reception, according to analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
But he devotes considerable attention to how Native Americans manipulated and frequently triumphed over colonists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Rybakina was the more composed of the two throughout as she claimed the third Grand Slam title of her career, having triumphed at Wimbledon in 2022 and the Australian Open earlier this year.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
The defendants, including “Quiet on Set” producers Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz, triumphed under California’s anti-SLAPP law, which protects against frivolous lawsuits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
‘But my heroes. . . you have triumphed over the giants as I knew you would. My plan succeeded beautifully.’
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
Sabalenka has won three WTA titles this year, triumphing in Brisbane, Indian Wells and the Miami Open, but she has been second-best to Rybakina in the hard-court majors.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 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
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
Beethoven’s music improves Goethe, extracting its humanity and frailty, and Dudamel’s performance probed its profound inevitability of good triumphing over evil.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
Yet the assumption that Lawrence and Teller would work together in unalloyed harmony turned out to be an instance of hope triumphing over reality.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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