trust

[truhst]

noun

1. reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.

   Synonyms: faith, belief, certainty

2. confident expectation of something; hope.

3. confidence in the certainty of future payment for property or goods received; credit.

   to sell merchandise on trust.

4. a person on whom or thing on which one relies.

   God is my trust.

5. the condition of one to whom something has been entrusted.

6. the obligation or responsibility imposed on a person in whom confidence or authority is placed.

   a position of trust.

7. charge, custody, or care.

   to leave valuables in someone's trust.

8. something committed or entrusted to one's care for use or safekeeping, as an office, duty, or the like; responsibility; charge.

   Synonyms: commission, commitment

9. Law.

   1. a fiduciary relationship in which one person (the trustee) holds the title to property (the trust estate or trust property) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary).

   2. the property or funds so held.

10. Commerce.

    1. an illegal combination of industrial or commercial companies in which the stock of the constituent companies is controlled by a central board of trustees, a group of people who have assumed the authority to supervise the affairs of the constituent companies, thus making it possible to manage the companies so as to minimize production costs, control prices, eliminate competition, etc.

    2. any large industrial or commercial corporation or combination having a monopolistic or semimonopolistic control over the production of some commodity or service.

11. Archaic.,  reliability.

adjective

1. Law.,  of or relating to trusts or a trust.

verb (used without object)

1. to rely upon or place confidence in someone or something (usually followed by in orto ).

   to trust in another's honesty; trusting to luck.

2. to have confidence; hope.

   Things work out if one only trusts.

3. to sell merchandise on credit.

verb (used with object)

1. to have trust or confidence in; rely or depend on.

2. to believe.

   Synonyms: credit

3. to expect confidently; hope (usually followed by a clause or infinitive as object).

   trusting the job would soon be finished; trusting to find oil on the land.

4. to commit or consign with trust or confidence.

   Synonyms: entrust

5. to permit to remain or go somewhere or to do something without fear of consequences.

   He does not trust his children out of his sight.

6. to invest with a trust; entrust or charge with the responsibility for something.

   We trust her to improve the finances of the company within the year.

7. to give credit to (a person) for goods, services, etc., supplied.

   Will you trust us till payday?

verb phrase

1. trust to,  to rely on; trust.

   Never trust to luck!

trust

/ trʌst /

noun

1. reliance on and confidence in the truth, worth, reliability, etc, of a person or thing; faith

2. a group of commercial enterprises combined to monopolize and control the market for any commodity: illegal in the US

3. the obligation of someone in a responsible position

   a position of trust

4. custody, charge, or care

   a child placed in my trust

5. a person or thing in which confidence or faith is placed

6. commercial credit

7. 1. an arrangement whereby a person to whom the legal title to property is conveyed (the trustee) holds such property for the benefit of those entitled to the beneficial interest

   2. property that is the subject of such an arrangement

   3. the confidence put in the trustee

8. (in the British National Health Service) a self-governing hospital, group of hospitals, or other body providing health-care services, which operates as an independent commercial unit within the NHS

9. See trust company trust account

10. (modifier) of or relating to a trust or trusts

    trust property

verb

1. (tr; may take a clause as object) to expect, hope, or suppose

   I trust that you are well

2. to place confidence in (someone to do something); have faith (in); rely (upon)

   I trust him to tell her

3. (tr) to consign for care

   the child was trusted to my care

4. (tr) to allow (someone to do something) with confidence in his or her good sense or honesty

   I trust my daughter to go

5. (tr) to extend business credit to

trust

1. A combination of firms or corporations for the purpose of reducing competition and controlling prices throughout a business or industry. Trusts are generally prohibited or restricted by antitrust legislation. (Compare monopoly.)

Other Word Forms

• trustable adjective
• trustability noun
• truster noun
• nontrust noun
• overtrust verb
• self-trust noun
• untrustable adjective
• untrusted adjective
• well-trusted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of trust¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English noun from Old Norse traust “trust” (cognate with German Trost “comfort”); Middle English verb trusten, from Old Norse treysta, derivative of traust

Word History and Origins

Origin of trust¹

C13: from Old Norse traust ; related to Old High German trost solace

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in trust, in the position of being left in the care or guardianship of another.

   She left money to her uncle to keep in trust for her children.

see brain trust; in trust.

Synonym Study

Trust, assurance, confidence imply a feeling of security. Trust implies instinctive unquestioning belief in and reliance upon something: to have trust in one's parents. Confidence implies conscious trust because of good reasons, definite evidence, or past experience: to have confidence in the outcome of events. Assurance implies absolute confidence and certainty: to feel an assurance of victory.

Example Sentences

"I'm speaking out because no-one should have to go through what I did, especially at the hands of someone in a position of trust and authority."

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The three other secondaries run by Dudley Academies Trust are introducing similar security measures - a response, says the trust, to the high knife-crime rate in the West Midlands Police area.

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Health visitors in almost two thirds of trusts in England were redeployed in March 2020, according to research by University College London.

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And now, for the first time in almost 20 years, the trust which owns and runs the island, is welcoming one adventurous family or couple to its craggy shoreline - and the "opportunity of a lifetime".

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In places where the local public health clinic is far away, under-staffed, or shut, they are the de facto doctors - and syrups are their most trusted tools.

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Related Words

• confidence 
• expectation 
• faith 
• hope