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trick or treat

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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.

VIDEO FOR TRICK OR TREAT

Why Do We Say "Trick Or Treat" On Halloween?

"Trick or Treat" is the quintessential Halloween greeting but why do we say it?

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Origin of trick or treat

First recorded in 1940–45

Words nearby trick or treat

trickle charger, trickle-down, trickle-down theory, trickle irrigation, trickle-up, trick or treat, trick out, tricks of the trade, tricksome, trickster, tricksy

Other definitions for trick or treat (2 of 2)

trick-or-treat

[ trik-er-treet ]

/ ˈtrɪk ərˈtrit /

verb (used without object)

to become involved or take part in trick or treat.

Origin of trick-or-treat

First recorded in 1940–45

OTHER WORDS FROM trick-or-treat

trick-or-treater, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use trick or treat in a sentence

As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Almost everyone there will be a decent person and treat you well.
Abramoff’s Advice for Virginia’s New Jailhouse Guv|Tim Mak, Jackie Kucinich|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yazbek tells The Daily Beast that the traffickers guarantee their service, and they treat the Syrian refugees with respect.
Ghost Ships of the Mediterranean|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
When ‘Downton Abbey’ returns Sunday night, its fashion fans are in for a familiar treat.
What Downton’s Fashion Really Means|Katie Baker|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

This is Bey and Nicki at their most lyrically masochistic, and boy, is it a treat.
The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and More|Marlow Stern|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He thrust his tiny tuft of beard between his teeth—a trick he had when perplexed or thoughtful.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
There is still a general tendency in universities on both sides of the Atlantic to treat propaganda as infection.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
I could have sworn I heard a cry, and one of my men spoke in a tone that assured me my imagination had not been playing a trick.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Not only are they required to do things in a proper orderly manner, but people have to treat them with due deference.
Children's Ways|James Sully
Some were inquisitive enough to ask, Has a treaty been signed or a trick been played upon the rebels?
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman

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

Other 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.