trophy

¹

[troh-fee]

noun

plural

trophies 

1. anything taken in war, hunting, competition, etc., especially when preserved as a memento; spoil, prize, or award.

2. anything serving as a token or evidence of victory, valor, skill, etc..

   a sports trophy.

3. a symbol of success that is used to impress others.

   He bought the lavish home as a trophy.

4. a carving, painting, or other representation of objects associated with or symbolic of victory or achievement.

5. any memento or memorial.

6. a memorial erected by certain ancient peoples, especially the Greeks and Romans, in commemoration of a victory in war and consisting of arms or other spoils taken from the enemy and hung upon a tree, pillar, or the like.

adjective

1. noting or relating to a symbol of success that is used to impress others.

   They just want a near-perfect trophy child to brag about.

-trophy

²

1. a combining form used in the formation of nouns with the general senses “nourishment, feeding” (mycotrophy ), “growth” (hypertrophy ); also forming abstract nouns corresponding to adjectives ending in -trophic.

trophy

¹

/ ˈtrəʊfɪ /

noun

1. an object such as a silver or gold cup that is symbolic of victory in a contest, esp a sporting contest; prize

2. a memento of success, esp one taken in war or hunting

3. 1. a memorial to a victory, usually consisting of captured arms raised on the battlefield or in a public place

   2. a representation of such a memorial

4. an ornamental carving that represents a group of weapons, etc

5. informal,  (modifier) highly desirable and regarded as a symbol of wealth or success

   a trophy wife

-trophy

²

combining form

1. indicating a certain type of nourishment or growth

   dystrophy

Other Word Forms

• -trophic combining form
• trophyless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of trophy¹

1505–15; earlier trophe < French trophée < Latin trop ( h ) aeum < Greek trópaion, noun use of neuter of trópaios, Attic variant of tropaîos of turning or putting to flight, equivalent to trop ( ḗ ) a turning (akin to trépein to turn) + -aios adj. suffix. See trope

Origin of trophy²

< Greek -trophia nutrition, equivalent to troph ( ḗ ) food + -ia -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of trophy¹

C16: from French trophée , from Latin tropaeum , from Greek tropaion , from tropē a turning, defeat of the enemy; related to Greek trepein to turn

Origin of trophy²

from Greek -trophia , from trophē nourishment

Example Sentences

He even stated: "We are not collecting the most talented players. We are trying to build a team. Teams win trophies, no-one else."

Read more on BBC

Which means stock prices themselves — the thing everyone obsesses over — contribute about as much to your wealth as the participation trophy you got in Little League.

Read more on MarketWatch

In a relatively evenly matched competition, those decisions are the very ones that could decide whether the Americans will reclaim the trophy at Bethpage—or watch Team Europe celebrate another victory on their home soil.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

He was rewarded for his tenacity by winning the 2025 Conn Smythe trophy, awarded to the most valuable player of the playoffs.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

It isn’t a strategy that builds long championship windows—those spells when everything is in place to win trophies—but done correctly, it can open them at any time.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• citation 
• crown 
• cup 
• decoration 
• gold 
• keepsake 
• medal 
• memento 
• prize 
• souvenir 

When To Use

What does -trophy mean?

The combining form -trophy is used like a suffix variously meaning “nourishment, feeding, growth." It is also used to form nouns corresponding to adjectives ending in -trophic. The combining -trophy is often used in medical and scientific terms.The form -trophy comes from the Greek trophḗ, meaning “nourishment,” “food.”You may be familiar with terms like atrophy (equivalent to the Greek átrophos) from the Greek and dystrophy (from the New Latin dystrophia). Find out how these relate to -trophy and "nourishment" at our entries for these words.Corresponding forms of -trophy combined to the beginning of words are tropho- and troph-. Another form closely related to -trophy is -troph.