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• trick or treat
  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.
• trick-or-treat
  trick-or-treat

  verb (used without object)

  to become involved or take part in trick or treat.

trick or treat

¹ American  

noun

1. 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.

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trick-or-treat ² American  

[trik-er-treet] / ˈtrɪk ərˈtrit /

verb (used without object)

1. to become involved or take part in trick or treat.

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trick or treat British  

1. 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

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trick or treat Idioms  

1. 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]

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Other Word Forms

• trick-or-treater
  noun

Etymology

Origin of trick or treat¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Origin of trick-or-treat²

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Velma, the bespectacled, orange-turtleneck-wearing smarty of the Scooby-Doo gang, is apparently queer, at least in the new, direct-to-digital and DVD film "Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!"

From Salon • Oct. 11, 2022

Fiona Staples was an artist that I had worked with previously on the "Trick or Treat" graphic novel; it was one of her first jobs actually.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 2015

Hebert said all three alleged activities occurred at each of the five clubs during a monthlong undercover investigation he called Operation Trick or Treat.

From Washington Times • Oct. 27, 2015

It was striking to see a reversal of roles on Thursday morning: AS's cover leads on "Trick or Treat"; Sport says "Comeback needed"; and El Mundo Deportivo calls for "heroics at the Camp Nou."

From The Guardian • Feb. 21, 2013

A lot of the songs on Trick or Treat reflect what I was going through.

From Time Magazine Archive