trick

American  

[trik] / trɪk /

noun

• tricks
  plural

1. a crafty or underhanded device, maneuver, stratagem, or the like, intended to deceive or cheat; artifice; ruse; wile.

   Synonyms:

   deception

2. an optical illusion.

   It must have been some visual trick caused by the flickering candlelight.

3. a roguish or mischievous act; practical joke; prank.

   She likes to play tricks on her friends.

4. a mean, foolish, or childish action.

5. a clever or ingenious device or expedient; adroit technique.

   the tricks of the trade.

6. the art or knack of doing something skillfully.

   You seem to have mastered the trick of making others laugh.

7. a clever or dexterous feat intended to entertain, amuse, etc..

   He taught his dog some amazing tricks.

8. a feat of magic or legerdemain.

   card tricks.

9. a behavioral peculiarity; trait; habit; mannerism.

10. a period of duty or turn; stint; tour of duty.

    I relieved the pilot after he had completed his trick at the wheel.

11. Cards.

    1. the group or set of cards played and won in one round.

    2. a point or scoring unit.

    3. a card that is a potential winner.

12. Informal. a child or young girl.

    a pretty little trick.

13. Slang.

    1. a prostitute's customer.

    2. a sexual act between a prostitute and a customer.

14. Heraldry.

    1. a preliminary sketch of a coat of arms.

    2. engraver's trick.

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adjective

1. of, pertaining to, characterized by, or involving tricks.

   trick shooting.

2. designed or used for tricks.

   a trick chair.

3. (of a joint) inclined to stiffen or weaken suddenly and unexpectedly.

   a trick shoulder.

verb (used with object)

• tricks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tricked,
  past participle,  past
• tricking
  present participle

1. to deceive by trickery.

2. Heraldry. to indicate the tinctures of (a coat of arms) with engravers tricks.

3. to cheat or swindle (usually followed byout of ).

   to trick someone out of an inheritance.

4. to beguile by trickery (usually followed byinto ).

verb (used without object)

• tricks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tricked,
  past participle,  past
• tricking
  present participle

1. to practice trickery or deception; cheat.

2. to play tricks; trifle (usually followed bywith ).

3. Slang. to engage in sexual acts for hire.

verb phrase

1. trick out to embellish or adorn with or as if with ornaments or other attention-getting devices.

idioms

1. do / turn the trick, to achieve the desired effect or result.

   Another turn of the pliers should do the trick.

2. turn a trick, (of a prostitute) to engage in a sexual act with a customer.

trick British  

/ trɪk /

noun

1. a deceitful, cunning, or underhand action or plan

2. 1. a mischievous, malicious, or humorous action or plan; joke

      the boys are up to their tricks again

   2. ( as modifier )

      a trick spider

3. an illusory or magical feat or device

4. a simple feat learned by an animal or person

5. an adroit or ingenious device; knack

   a trick of the trade

6. a behavioural trait, habit, or mannerism

7. a turn or round of duty or work

8. cards

   1. a batch of cards containing one from each player, usually played in turn and won by the player or side that plays the card with the highest value

   2. a card that can potentially win a trick

9. slang to be consistently unsuccessful or unlucky

10. informal to produce the right or desired result

11. slang how are you?

12. slang (of a prostitute) to gain a customer

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verb

1. to defraud, deceive, or cheat (someone), esp by means of a trick

trick More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing trick

• bag of tricks
• confidence game (trick)
• dirty tricks
• do the trick
• hat trick
• how's tricks
• not miss a trick
• teach an old dog new tricks
• that does it (the trick)
• turn a trick
• up to one's old tricks

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Synonym Usage

Trick , artifice , ruse , stratagem , wile are terms for crafty or cunning devices that are intended to deceive. Trick , the general term, refers usually to an underhanded act designed to cheat someone, but it sometimes refers merely to a pleasurable deceiving of the senses: to win by a trick. Like trick , but to a greater degree, artifice emphasizes the cleverness, ingenuity, or cunning with which the proceeding is devised: an artifice of diabolical ingenuity. Ruse and stratagem emphasize the purpose for which the trick is designed; ruse is the more general term of the two, and stratagem sometimes implies a more elaborate procedure or a military application: He gained entrance by a ruse. His stratagem gave them command of the hill. W ile emphasizes the disarming effect of the trick upon those who are deceived: His wiles charmed them into trusting him. See cheat.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• tricker
  noun
• outtrick
  verb (used with object)
• trickless
  adjective
• untricked
  adjective
• trickingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tricks
  plural

Participles

• tricking
  present
• tricked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• trick
  simple
• tricks
  simple
• have tricked
  perfect
• has tricked
  perfect
• am tricking
  progressive
• are tricking
  progressive
• is tricking
  progressive
• have been tricking
  perfect progressive
• has been tricking
  perfect progressive

Past

• tricked
  simple
• had tricked
  perfect
• was tricking
  progressive
• were tricking
  progressive
• had been tricking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will trick
  simple
• will have tricked
  perfect
• will be tricking
  progressive
• will have been tricking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of trick

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English trik (noun), from Old North French trique “deceit,” derivative of trikier “to deceive,” from Vulgar Latin triccāre (unrecorded), from Latin trīcārī “to play tricks,” derivative of trīcae “hindrances, nonsense, trifles”; alternatively, perhaps from Middle Dutch trecken “to draw, pull” (compare modern Dutch trekken; see trek ( def. ))

Explanation

A trick is a hoax or sneaky scheme. If you fool people into thinking they're donating to a good cause when you're really keeping their money, you're playing a trick on them. It's not nice to trick people. "A mean ruse" is the oldest meaning of trick, which is rooted in the Latin tricari, "be evasive." Today it's also used for less mean-spirited deceptions, including funny practical jokes and a magician's sleight-of-hand illusions, commonly called magic tricks. To trick someone is to fool them, and if you hold a trick in your hand, you're playing bridge, hearts, or another "trick-taking" card game.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trick tricks tricked tricking

Outside, Alicante performs the same trick on a larger scale.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

Yet the trick of this irresistible groove is that it feels like a house party caving in on itself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Burnham is also planning to outlaw shops using fake "was" prices, which he said trick shoppers into thinking they are getting better value on purchases.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

So we should welcome whatever tip or trick can make the tiniest difference.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

“You know it’s probably a trick, right? Nansi’s a trickster. We’re literally walking right into his web,” Autumn argues, making her voice flat.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

One of the great tricks in life is to have a talent suited to your times, and they do.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

That’s due in part to new tricks like the one you received.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

But like all magic tricks, everything was not quite as it seemed and moments later the treasured items returned.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

"In that journey, you figure out timing, you figure out tricks like how to get someone's attention in the first three seconds," Barker told The Big Picture podcast recently.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

“Nobody asked you. Why don’t you do one of your stupid magic tricks and make yourself disappear?”

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

“We tricked them by putting soccer in a comedy show,” Hunt said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

Still, there’s a difference between being tricked and being upsold.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

Costco also denied claims that shoppers were tricked into paying a premium for its rotisserie chicken because of the “no preservatives” label.

From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026

Security experts believe manufacturers are paid to add the malware, but many people are tricked into downloading it onto their phones and computers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

Me: I felt weird when Leo tricked me into hugging him.

From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee

But while Carlini’s work had debunked many claims made by AI developers, he had focused on the threat of bad people tricking artificial intelligence systems into making mistakes, not on hackers harnessing them for superpowers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

Instead, recent attacks relied on phishing -- tricking users into handing over access to their accounts.

From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026

Prosecutors allege they targeted the crypto-rich using hacked databases, tricking victims into thinking they were cryptocurrency exchanges, and persuading them to transfer coins.

From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2026

The hackers likely executed a “SIM swap,” tricking a mobile provider into transferring a phone number to a SIM card the hackers control.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025

Part of me wonders if this is just some weirdo who stole my grandfather’s ring and is tricking my mom.

From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm

Related Words

• conspiracy
• deception
• device
• distortion
• fraud
• gimmick
• hoax
• illusion
• maneuver
• plot
• ploy
• ruse
• trap