trump
trump
1 American
[truhmp]
/ trʌmp /
noun
-
Cards.
-
any playing card of a suit that for the time outranks the other suits, such a card being able to take any card of another suit.
-
(used with a singular verb) Often trumps the suit itself.
-
-
Informal: Older Use. a fine, admirable person.
verb (used without object)
verb phrase
trump
2
American
[truhmp]
/ trʌmp /
Trump
3
American
[truhmp]
/ trʌmp /
noun
-
Donald J(ohn), born 1946, 45th president of the United States 2017–21.
-
Melania Melanija Knavs, born 1970, U.S. First Lady 2017–21 (wife of Donald J. Trump).
trump
1
British
/ trʌmp /
noun
-
Also called: trump card.
-
any card from the suit chosen as trumps
-
this suit itself; trumps
-
-
Also called: trump card. a decisive or advantageous move, resource, action, etc
-
informal a fine or reliable person
verb
-
to play a trump card on (a suit, or a particular card of a suit, that is not trumps)
-
(tr) to outdo or surpass
trump
2
British
/ trʌmp /
noun
-
a trumpet or the sound produced by one
-
the final trumpet call that according to the belief of some will awaken and raise the dead on the Day of Judgment
verb
-
(intr) to produce a sound upon or as if upon the trumpet
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(tr) to proclaim or announce with or as if with a fanfare
-
slang (intr) to expel intestinal gas through the anus
trump
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of trump1
First recorded in 1520–30; unexplained variant of triumph
Origin of trump2
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun tromp(e), troump, from Old French tromp(e), tronpe; probably of Germanic origin; compare Old High German trumpa, Old Norse trumba “trumpet”
Explanation
To trump is to outrank or defeat someone or something, often in a highly public way. Safety might trump appearance when you're buying a car, or your desires may trump your brother's when it comes to making weekend plans. In the card game bridge, the trump card is the most powerful card in a particular round and defeats all the others — sort of like when your needs or wishes trump someone else's. Originally trump implied a deceptive form of victory involving cheating, but that sense has been largely lost, though it's still around in the term trumped up, meaning something that's been falsely made up. A politician may face trumped up charges that could ruin his career.
Vocabulary lists containing trump
Trumps
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On Your Mark, Get Set, Commence Your Life!
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History is made in PA: Clinton's DNC Acceptance Speech
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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:
As Kahneman loved to say, “Stories trump statistics.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Uefa - Infantino's fiercest critic - dealt its trump card on Thursday by threatening to boycott all Fifa competitions, including the World Cup.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
The league already ceded its regular season to the offseason, leaning into free agency drama as a driving source of year-round intrigue, letting team-building trump teamwork.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
“Tech exuberance continues to trump oil prices,” said Thomas Mathews, head of markets for the Asia Pacific region at Capital Economics.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
Yeah, it’s true, but I wish she’d stop picking fights so she can use her trump card.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
"Just in case President Trump or anyone else forgets, we've set up this sign to remind them, it's Lake Ontario, now and forever," Ontario Premier Doug Ford said.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Trump said on his Truth Social network after the meeting.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
President Trump told reporters Monday that the U.S. had been helping an average of 30 ships a night get through the Strait of Hormuz and that the waterway was open.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Peters is not supposed to leave Colorado without permission from her parole officer, although she did visit Trump at the White House.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Barack and I walked out of the White House for the last time on January 20, 2017, accompanying Donald and Melania Trump to the inauguration ceremony.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
