trick

[ trik ]

/ trɪk /

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See synonyms for: trick / tricked / tricker / trickest on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

an optical illusion: It must have been some visual trick caused by the flickering candlelight.

a roguish or mischievous act; practical joke; prank: She likes to play tricks on her friends.

a mean, foolish, or childish action.

a clever or ingenious device or expedient; adroit technique: the tricks of the trade.

the art or knack of doing something skillfully: You seem to have mastered the trick of making others laugh.

a clever or dexterous feat intended to entertain, amuse, etc.: He taught his dog some amazing tricks.

a feat of magic or legerdemain: card tricks.

a behavioral peculiarity; trait; habit; mannerism.

a period of duty or turn; stint; tour of duty: I relieved the pilot after he had completed his trick at the wheel.

Cards.

the group or set of cards played and won in one round.
a point or scoring unit.
a card that is a potential winner.Compare honor trick.

Informal. a child or young girl: a pretty little trick.

Slang.

a prostitute's customer.
a sexual act between a prostitute and a customer.

Heraldry.

a preliminary sketch of a coat of arms.
engraver's trick.

adjective

of, pertaining to, characterized by, or involving tricks: trick shooting.

designed or used for tricks: a trick chair.

(of a joint) inclined to stiffen or weaken suddenly and unexpectedly: a trick shoulder.

verb (used with object)

to deceive by trickery.

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

to cheat or swindle (usually followed by out of): to trick someone out of an inheritance.

to beguile by trickery (usually followed by into).

verb (used without object)

to practice trickery or deception; cheat.

to play tricks; trifle (usually followed by with).

Slang. to engage in sexual acts for hire.

Verb Phrases

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

OTHER WORDS FOR trick

1 deception.

See synonyms for trick on Thesaurus.com

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Idioms about trick

do / turn the trick, to achieve the desired effect or result: Another turn of the pliers should do the trick.

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

Origin of trick

1375–1425; late Middle English trik (noun) <Old North French trique deceit, derivative of trikier to deceive <Vulgar Latin *triccāre, for Latin trīcārī to play tricks

synonym study for trick

1. 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. 18. See cheat.

OTHER WORDS FROM trick

tricker, nountrick·ing·ly, adverbouttrick, verb (used with object)un·tricked, adjective

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

How to use trick in a sentence

Those purchases begin well before the holiday, with the other half of the season’s sales occurring in the last two weeks of October and designated for trick-or-treating.
How scary will a COVID-19 Halloween be for candy companies?|Beth Kowitt|August 29, 2020|Fortune
The post How to teach an old blog new SEO tricks appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
How to teach an old blog new SEO tricks|Tom Pick|August 27, 2020|Search Engine Watch
The fake shows appear designed to trick listeners into listening to them, so they can be monetized through ads injected automatically using Anchor technology.
‘Game of whack-a-mole’: Spotify has a counterfeit podcast problem|Max Willens|August 21, 2020|Digiday
To give the games some semblance of normalcy—for the players and for fans—the NBA is using every technical trick it can muster.
How the NBA is using virtual fans to make games feel normal|Nicolás Rivero|August 14, 2020|Quartz

You can share your work experiences or struggle stories or basic tips and tricks related to your profession.
What will make your brand stand out on LinkedIn in 2020?|Harikrishna Kundariya|August 12, 2020|Search Engine Watch
That idea is often invoked in regards to the tricks memory plays, but I wonder how it might come into play in other ways.
Daphne Merkin on Lena Dunham, Book Criticism, and Self-Examination|Mindy Farabee|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And when that happens, one “alpha dog” will run the show, usually the oldest, most experienced performer, who “knows more tricks.”
A Backstage Love Affair With Cirque du Soleil|Allison McNearney|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For Republicans, the 2016 cycle will show us whether old dogs have learned new tricks.
Now, Gay Marriage Is a GOP Problem|Marc Solomon|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Thus it seems likely that instead of striking a new tone of moderation, the new GOP Congress will return to its old tricks.
GOP Senate Can't Resist a ‘War on Women’|Sally Kohn|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“She showed him all the tricks of the trade,” Richardson said.
Revealing The Unseen Picasso|Justin Jones|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One of the simplest of these childish tricks is the invention of an excuse for not instantly obeying a command, as "Come here!"
Children's Ways|James Sully
I shall only be away for six months; you know I have made up my mind to get rid of the whole bag of tricks.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Every few days after that the boy took Squinty out of his pen, and let him do the rope-jumping and the acorn-hunting tricks.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
And from then on the comical little pig learned many tricks.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
These scientists have worked miracles before which those of the ancient priests and magicians are mere tricks of hanky-panky.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford

British Dictionary definitions for trick

trick

/ (trɪk) /

noun

a deceitful, cunning, or underhand action or plan

a mischievous, malicious, or humorous action or plan; jokethe boys are up to their tricks again
(as modifier)a trick spider

an illusory or magical feat or device

a simple feat learned by an animal or person

an adroit or ingenious device; knacka trick of the trade

a behavioural trait, habit, or mannerism

a turn or round of duty or work

cards

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
a card that can potentially win a trick

can't take a trick Australian slang to be consistently unsuccessful or unlucky

do the trick informal to produce the right or desired result

how's tricks? slang how are you?

turn a trick slang (of a prostitute) to gain a customer

verb

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

Derived forms of trick

tricker, nountrickless, adjective

Word Origin for trick

C15: from Old Northern French trique, from trikier to deceive, from Old French trichier, ultimately from Latin trīcārī to play tricks

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

trick

In addition to the idioms beginning with trick

trick or treat
trick out
tricks of the trade

also see:

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

trick

OTHER WORDS FOR trick

Idioms about trick

Origin of trick

synonym study for trick

OTHER WORDS FROM trick

Words related to trick

How to use trick in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for trick

Derived forms of trick

Word Origin for trick

Other Idioms and Phrases with trick