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definitions

trick-or-treat

[trik-er-treet]

verb (used without object)

to become involved or take part in trick or treat.

Origin of trick-or-treat

First recorded in 1940–45
Related formstrick-or-treat·er, noun

trick or treat

noun

a children's Halloween custom, in which they call on neighbors, using this phrase, and threaten to play a trick if a treat is not given.

Origin of trick or treat

First recorded in 1940–45
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for trick-or-treat

trick or treat

sentence substitute

mainly US and Canadian the cry by children at Halloween when they call at houses, indicating that they want a present or money or else they will play a trick on the householder
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with trick-or-treat

trick or treat

A greeting by children asking for treats on Halloween and threatening to play a trick on those who refuse to give them. For example, The children went from house to house, shouting “Trick or treat!” [c. 1940]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.