tricky
Americanadjective
adjective
-
involving snags or difficulties
a tricky job
-
needing careful and tactful handling
a tricky situation
-
characterized by tricks; sly; wily
a tricky dealer
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of tricky
Explanation
If something is tricky, it's difficult, like a tricky puzzle. And if a person is tricky, they're sneaky, skilled, or crafty, like a tricky magician who makes it look easy to pull quarters out of your ears. A tricky riddle is extremely hard to figure out, and a tricky question on a math test is even trickier if you can't use a calculator to solve it. In their 1986 rap classic, "It's Tricky," Run-DMC claimed that "it's tricky...to rock a rhyme that's right on time" — or in other words, it's really difficult to write a clever rap lyric.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This is a tricky thing to say because sometimes it can sound as if you’re paying yourself a compliment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 7, 2026
“The tricky part is that prefab homes eventually look just like traditional homes,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 7, 2026
It gets a bit tricky when you use a negative.
From Salon • Jul. 6, 2026
She added "I know from some friends and parents that it's been really tricky" and "hopefully it will help with applying for credit cards available to us here".
From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026
It was a tricky business because the black shell was so hard.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
