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• Trump
  Trump

  noun

  Donald J(ohn), born 1946, 45th president of the United States 2017–21.

trump

¹ American  

[truhmp] / trʌmp /

noun

1. Cards.

   1. 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.

   2. (used with a singular verb) Often trumps the suit itself.

2. Informal: Older Use. a fine, admirable person.

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verb (used with object)

1. Cards. to take with a trump.

2. to excel; surpass; outdo.

verb (used without object)

1. Cards.

   1. to play a trump.

   2. to take a trick with a trump.

verb phrase

1. trump up to devise deceitfully or dishonestly, as an accusation; fabricate.

   Try as they might, they were unable to trump up a convincing case against him.

trump ² American  

[truhmp] / trʌmp /

noun

1. a trumpet.

2. the sound of a trumpet.

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verb (used without object)

1. to blow a trumpet.

Trump ³ American  

[truhmp] / trʌmp /

noun

1. Donald J(ohn), born 1946, 45th president of the United States 2017–21.

2. Melania Melanija Knavs, born 1970, U.S. First Lady 2017–21 (wife of Donald J. Trump).

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trump ¹ British  

/ trʌmp /

noun

1. Also called: trump card.

   1. any card from the suit chosen as trumps

   2. this suit itself; trumps

2. Also called: trump card. a decisive or advantageous move, resource, action, etc

3. informal a fine or reliable person

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verb

1. to play a trump card on (a suit, or a particular card of a suit, that is not trumps)

2. (tr) to outdo or surpass

trump ² British  

/ trʌmp /

noun

1. a trumpet or the sound produced by one

2. the final trumpet call that according to the belief of some will awaken and raise the dead on the Day of Judgment

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verb

1. (intr) to produce a sound upon or as if upon the trumpet

2. (tr) to proclaim or announce with or as if with a fanfare

3. slang (intr) to expel intestinal gas through the anus

trump Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing trump

• hold all the aces (trumps)
• turn up trumps

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Other Word Forms

• trumpless
  adjective

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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”

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trump Trump

For working-class voters, including women, class can trump gender as the determining factor behind a vote.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

The paper playfully suggests the US president played his "trump card" when he spoke with Fifa president Gianni Infantino to review Balogun's ban.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 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

He executed wonderfully on the possibilities of technology and the commercial environment, even so stumbling into a gold mine to trump all gold mines, the iPhone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

Forty minutes later she was inside the physics building once more, arguing with the porter, but this time she had a trump card.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman

Despite a tumultuous week, she projected calm, touting her close relationship with President Trump and expressing confidence in her press team.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

When Trump announced her appointment last week in a social media post, he referred to her as “an attorney.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

The lawmakers thanked Trump for signing the sanctions bill, and urged his "full and faithful implementation" of the law.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

He followed that up with an AI-generated video that struck a celebratory tone, showing Trump chasing away a tiger while remaining unharmed.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 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

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Related Words

• outdo
• overtake

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