triumph
Americannoun
-
triumphs
plural
-
the act, fact, or condition of being victorious or triumphant; victory; conquest.
- Synonyms:
- success
-
a significant success or noteworthy achievement; instance or occasion of victory.
-
exultation resulting from victory; joy over success.
- Synonyms:
- celebration, jubilation
-
Roman History. the ceremonial entrance into Rome of a victorious commander with his army, spoils of war, and captives, authorized by the senate in honor of an important military or naval victory.
-
a public pageant, spectacle, or the like.
verb (used without object)
-
triumphs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
triumphed,
past participle, past
-
triumphing
present participle
-
to gain a victory; be victorious; win.
- Synonyms:
- succeed
-
to gain mastery; prevail.
to triumph over fear.
-
to be successful; achieve success.
-
to exult over victory; rejoice over success.
-
to be elated or glad; rejoice proudly; glory.
-
to celebrate a triumph, as a victorious Roman commander.
verb (used with object)
-
triumphs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
triumphed,
past participle, past
-
triumphing
present participle
noun
-
the feeling of exultation and happiness derived from a victory or major achievement
-
the act or condition of being victorious; victory
-
(in ancient Rome) a ritual procession to the Capitoline Hill held in honour of a victorious general
-
obsolete a public display or celebration
-
cards an obsolete word for trump 1
verb
-
(often foll by over) to win a victory or control
to triumph over one's weaknesses
-
to rejoice over a victory
-
to celebrate a Roman triumph
Usage
What does triumph mean? To triumph is to win, succeed, or be victorious in an epic or spectacular way. Sometimes, it means to conquer. In this case, it’s often used with the word over. An army can triumph over enemy forces. In stories, good triumphs over evil. A person might be said to triumph over cancer. Triumph is especially used in situations in which victory or success has come after great difficulty, adversity, or sacrifice, or over an opponent considered difficult to defeat. Triumph is also commonly used as a noun meaning an especially significant or noteworthy victory or success, as in Their championship was a triumph—a win that places them among the all-time greats. A person’s moment of triumph is the moment when they finally achieve victory or success. Triumph can refer to the state of winning or being victorious, as in They returned to their hometown in triumph, entering to the cheers of the adoring crowd. Sometimes, triumph refers to the state of joy or celebration following a victory or success that is considered a triumph, as in A feeling of triumph filled her as she realized she had won the election. Triumph can also be used to refer to something that is a great achievement, as in Her latest novel is her greatest triumph—a masterpiece in every way. The adjective triumphant means experiencing, celebrating, or having achieved a triumph. The adjective triumphal means involving, relating to, or celebrating a triumph. Example: We will not rest until we reach our moment of triumph—when we finally triumph over the forces of evil.
Synonym Usage
See victory.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
triumphsimple
-
triumphssimple
-
have triumphedperfect
-
has triumphedperfect
-
am triumphingprogressive
-
are triumphingprogressive
-
is triumphingprogressive
-
have been triumphingperfect progressive
-
has been triumphingperfect progressive
Past
-
triumphedsimple
-
had triumphedperfect
-
was triumphingprogressive
-
were triumphingprogressive
-
had been triumphingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of triumph
First recorded before 900; Middle English triumphe (noun), Old English triumpha, from Latin triump(h)us, perhaps from Etruscan, from Greek thríambos “hymn to Dionysus”
Explanation
A triumph is a well-earned victory. It'll make you pump your fist and yell "Hurrah!" Triumph can be a noun or a verb, so you can have a triumph after the big game when you triumph over your opponents. Either way, it's a way to rejoice and a reason to whoop it up. The word comes from the Latin triumphus which is an "achievement, success, procession for a victorious general or admiral." The jury's still out on whether it comes from the Greek thriambos, as a "hymn to Dionysus," but it's fun to imagine that a triumph is a song to the Greek god of party animals. Fittingly, a Triumph is also the name of a motorcycle, a cool car, and a hard rockin' band from Canada.
Vocabulary lists containing triumph
Emotions on Display
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Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling
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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.
See Examples For:
Ditka and the team brought triumph to Chicago in Super Bowl XX in New Orleans with a 46-10 win against the New England Patriots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Fleck announced that the triumph over the Wolverines was the “best day” of his life besides his marriage and the birth of his children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Saturday's triumph could be the catalyst for that.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
In Montreal, he took his own historic triumph.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
All over the country, below headlines in massive type about Gagarin’s triumph, were brief articles with headlines such as “Puts Snooze Before News.”
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
He frequently wrote Facebook posts about Rasuwagadhi’s trials and triumphs, and wanted to revive it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
As a situation comedy, its characters will spend their days and nights getting in and out of scrapes, enduring self-inflicted humiliations, experiencing minor triumphs; they are all a little stupid, and a little smart.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Sabalenka's four Grand Slam singles titles - two Australian Open and two US Open triumphs, all on hard courts - are more than most players can dream of.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
The world silver medallist completed victory for the quartet in a European record 39.97 seconds to add to her triumphs in the 100m, 200m and women's 4x100m in Birmingham.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Witnessing the pandemonium, he knew that this was one of his major triumphs, one of those long-shot assignments that paid off beautifully, certain to become legend.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
But he devotes considerable attention to how Native Americans manipulated and frequently triumphed over colonists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
The defendants, including “Quiet on Set” producers Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz, triumphed under California’s anti-SLAPP law, which protects against frivolous lawsuits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
But despite that lack of résumé, Graham triumphed on Tuesday.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
Demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos estimates it is now as low as eight million, only slightly more than 67 years ago, when Fidel Castro declared, "The tyrant has fled... the revolution has triumphed!"
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
I have lied and I have betrayed and I have triumphed.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
While Osaka was away, Sabalenka finally had her breakthrough moment, triumphing at the 2023 Australian Open for her first Grand Slam title.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
The Knicks ended up triumphing 130-93, a victory that sent the team to the NBA finals for the first time in 27 years.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
The team won a 6-foot aluminum pole, among other prizes, for triumphing in a Festivus-themed trivia contest last December.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
This kind of narrowing of the acceptable realm of conversation may have briefly led to a feeling that once marginalized groups were triumphing.
From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2026
She whirled about to see her triumphing companion emerge from hiding and make for the home-tree at full speed.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
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.
