triumph
Americannoun
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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.
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exultation resulting from victory; joy over success.
- Synonyms:
- celebration, jubilation
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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.
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a public pageant, spectacle, or the like.
verb (used without object)
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to gain a victory; be victorious; win.
- Synonyms:
- succeed
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to gain mastery; prevail.
to triumph over fear.
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to be successful; achieve success.
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to exult over victory; rejoice over success.
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to be elated or glad; rejoice proudly; glory.
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to celebrate a triumph, as a victorious Roman commander.
verb (used with object)
noun
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the feeling of exultation and happiness derived from a victory or major achievement
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the act or condition of being victorious; victory
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(in ancient Rome) a ritual procession to the Capitoline Hill held in honour of a victorious general
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obsolete a public display or celebration
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cards an obsolete word for trump 1
verb
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(often foll by over) to win a victory or control
to triumph over one's weaknesses
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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
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triumphsimple
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triumphssimple
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have triumphedperfect
-
has triumphedperfect
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am triumphingprogressive
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are triumphingprogressive
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is triumphingprogressive
-
have been triumphingperfect progressive
-
has been triumphingperfect progressive
Past
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triumphedsimple
-
had triumphedperfect
-
was triumphingprogressive
-
were triumphingprogressive
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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:
That would mean that these markets, rather than being a reliable guide to the future, have come to represent a triumph of hope over experience.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
But increasingly his greatest triumph is starting to look like his greatest tragedy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Sinner’s victory followed Linda Noskova’s roller coaster triumph over Karolina Muchova in Saturday’s women’s final.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
“It’s a triumph, but it should have been 9-0,” Amar said on a review of the court term sponsored by SCOTUSblog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
She whirled on me, full of gleeful triumph.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
While Mexico has never won a World Cup, Mexico City’s iconic Estadio Azteca has been the site of some of Argentina’s greatest soccer triumphs, notably its championship in the stirring 1986 World Cup.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Mbappe wants to break every record he can, but only if they serve the collective - it is no secret he is obsessed with equalling Pele's record of three World Cup triumphs.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
It has witnessed some of our greatest triumphs and deepest failures.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
After two and a half centuries of triumphs and tragedies, slavery and freedom, civil war and world wars, multiple surveys indicate a nation divided about where it is and where it's going.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
The people who would know that he had participated in these triumphs.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Canada has form in Eurovision: appearing for Switzerland, Canadian then-starlet Celine Dion triumphed in 1988 singing "Ne partez pas sans moi", launching her career internationally.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
And after Paraguay triumphed 4-3 on penalties following the 1-1 draw, Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann was left fuming at the disallowed goal.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
The oldest and largest is Aemond’s dragon Vhagar, who has already triumphed over a couple of Team Black’s dragonriders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Canada and Mexico, is underway after Mexico triumphed over South Africa 2-0 on Thursday.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 12, 2026
Theologians justified the presence of corruption as a means by which men strove, were tested, and triumphed.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
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
In 2022, the political newbie won Kathmandu's mayoral race by a landslide as an independent candidate, triumphing over parties which had dominated elections for decades.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 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
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.
