trust

American  

[truhst] / trʌst /

noun

• trusts
  plural

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.

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adjective

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

verb (used without object)

• trusts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trusted,
  past participle,  past
• trusting
  present participle

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)

• trusts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• trusted,
  past participle,  past
• trusting
  present participle

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!

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.

trust British  

/ 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

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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 Cultural  

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.)

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trust More Idioms  

1. see brain trust; in trust.

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Synonym Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• trusts
  plural

Participles

• trusting
  present
• trusted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• trust
  simple
• trusts
  simple
• have trusted
  perfect
• has trusted
  perfect
• am trusting
  progressive
• are trusting
  progressive
• is trusting
  progressive
• have been trusting
  perfect progressive
• has been trusting
  perfect progressive

Past

• trusted
  simple
• had trusted
  perfect
• was trusting
  progressive
• were trusting
  progressive
• had been trusting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will trust
  simple
• will have trusted
  perfect
• will be trusting
  progressive
• will have been trusting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of trust

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

Explanation

If you trust someone then you believe that they’re honest and reliable. If you loan your car to someone, you had better trust them to bring it back to you, and in good shape. Trust takes many forms. You could trust in something abstract, like the idea that things happen for a reason. If you are naïve, people might take advantage of your trust. A trust can also be a fund or an alliance meant to take care of something. A trust fund gives money to some lucky trustee so that he doesn’t need to worry about employment. A wildlife trust saves land from development so animals can live there.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trust trusts trusted trusting

Following an ombudsman investigation, the trust apologised and said "we did not get things right".

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

The Buss family trust comprises of Jerry Buss' six children, with Jeanie serving as the governor of the Lakers since her father's death in 2013.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Our estate plan currently includes a trust and wills that divide our assets equally between them after we are both gone.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

“By handling these disagreements carefully, he gained the trust he needed from Congress and kept his officers loyal,” Mr. Cavanaugh writes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

“Trust me when I say it was time well spent. Time wriggling her way into fascist groups here in Britain. Earning the trust of Nazi sympathizers within the American government—that swine Tyler Kent, for instance.”

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Meanwhile, if you really feel a need to have some real-estate exposure in your portfolio, you can always buy stock in residential real-estate investment trusts, or REITs, which own properties.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

It may also apply to some properties owned by trusts or LLCs even if a beneficiary or member is a primary resident.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

He trusts his faith and his mother, who has raised him as a single parent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Some of England's largest academy trusts have told the BBC they are also keeping a number of optional branded items on the uniform list, which the new law allows.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

They let me put my hair up but made a lot of fuss over how to fix it, because no one trusts me with hairpins.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

“Joanie was a beloved, trusted teacher,” said her attorney, V. James DeSimone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

India, Asia's third-largest economy, must "establish itself as a trusted global supply chain partner for the world", Modi said of manufacturing.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

For those who are unsure about their course choice and want to change, Wade says it is important to talk to a trusted adviser first, like a family member or teacher.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

The company is rolling out the full model to trusted organizations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

And I definitely trusted Thomas with my life, even if he couldn’t tell a joke to save his.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

When donors stop trusting that their dollars yield tangible outcomes, the case for giving collapses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

They ran on these values, trusting unions and activists to back them at the ballot box.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Then it’s up to their coach to talk them into dismissing the algorithm they’ve spent the past few months trusting.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

“Becky was a kind person and paid the absolute price for that by trusting the wrong person,” Winter said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

“I’ll have to leave Cardan in your care, which means trusting you. I promise not to betray you, and you promise that the prince will be here when I get back.”

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Related Words

• confidence
• expectation
• faith
• hope