trash-talking

American

[trash-taw-king] / ˈtræʃˌtɔ kɪŋ /

Or trash talking

noun

the act of using disparaging or boastful language, especially to demoralize or intimidate opponents.

Taunting, trash-talking, gloating, and cheap shots have become all too common in sports.

Etymology

Origin of trash-talking

An Americanism dating back to 1985–90

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.

The Detroit Pistons transformed from one of the NBA’s worst teams to the Eastern Conference leader by adopting a hard-hitting, trash-talking style.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

Those contests, like many others, involved months of trash-talking on both sides, and often foment internal warfare.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025

However the trash-talking American was adamant on Friday that he has the tools to stop Joshua as the two men faced off in a promotional event for next month's Netflix special.

From Barron's • Nov. 21, 2025

Instead we think of male bonding, of office pools and water-cooler chats, of the good-natured trash-talking that comes with fantasy leagues, of long-standing tradition.

From Slate • Sep. 5, 2025

We did a lot of trash-talking about which one of us would get his name up on the Scoreboard first.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023