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trophy

[troh-fee]
See more synonyms for trophy on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural tro·phies.
  1. anything taken in war, hunting, competition, etc., especially when preserved as a memento; spoil, prize, or award.
  2. anything serving as a token or evidence of victory, valor, skill, etc.: a sports trophy.
  3. a symbol of success that is used to impress others: He bought the lavish home as a trophy.
  4. a carving, painting, or other representation of objects associated with or symbolic of victory or achievement.
  5. any memento or memorial.
  6. a memorial erected by certain ancient peoples, especially the Greeks and Romans, in commemoration of a victory in war and consisting of arms or other spoils taken from the enemy and hung upon a tree, pillar, or the like.
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adjective
  1. noting or relating to a symbol of success that is used to impress others: They just want a near-perfect trophy child to brag about.
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Origin of trophy

1505–15; earlier trophe < French trophée < Latin trop(h)aeum < Greek trópaion, noun use of neuter of trópaios, Attic variant of tropaîos of turning or putting to flight, equivalent to trop(ḗ) a turning (akin to trépein to turn) + -aios adj. suffix. See trope
Related formstro·phy·less, adjective

-trophy

  1. a combining form used in the formation of nouns with the general senses “nourishment, feeding” (mycotrophy), “growth” (hypertrophy); also forming abstract nouns corresponding to adjectives ending in -trophic.
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Origin of -trophy

< Greek -trophia nutrition, equivalent to troph(ḗ) food + -ia -y3
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

citationprizegoldcupkeepsakecrownsouvenirdecorationmedalmementomemorialbootyguerdonspoilstokenreminderribbonpalm

Examples from the Web for trophy

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • You worship victories, for in your trophies the cross is the heart of the trophy.

    The Non-Christian Cross

    John Denham Parsons

  • But, after all, Max carried the trophy of Steve's shots close to the camp.

  • Then Doug turned placidly back to the construction of his trophy.

    The Forest

    Stewart Edward White

  • They captured about two hundred shields, and set up a trophy.

    Hellenica

    Xenophon

  • So they set up a trophy, and took up their quarters for the night.

    Hellenica

    Xenophon

British Dictionary definitions for trophy

trophy

noun plural -phies
  1. an object such as a silver or gold cup that is symbolic of victory in a contest, esp a sporting contest; prize
  2. a memento of success, esp one taken in war or hunting
  3. (in ancient Greece and Rome)
    1. a memorial to a victory, usually consisting of captured arms raised on the battlefield or in a public place
    2. a representation of such a memorial
  4. an ornamental carving that represents a group of weapons, etc
  5. (modifier) informal highly desirable and regarded as a symbol of wealth or successa trophy wife
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Word Origin

C16: from French trophée, from Latin tropaeum, from Greek tropaion, from tropē a turning, defeat of the enemy; related to Greek trepein to turn

-trophy

n combining form
  1. indicating a certain type of nourishment or growthdystrophy
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Derived Forms-trophic, adj combining form

Word Origin

from Greek -trophia, from trophē nourishment
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

Word Origin and History for trophy

n.

1510s, "a spoil or prize of war," from Middle French trophée (15c.) from Latin trophaeum "a sign of victory, monument," originally tropaeum, from Greek tropaion "monument of an enemy's defeat," noun use of neuter of adjective tropaios "of defeat," from trope "a rout," originally "a turning" (of the enemy); see trope. Figurative extension to any token or memorial of victory is first recorded 1560s. Trophy wife attested by 1984.

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-trophy

word-forming element meaning "food, nourishment," from Greek trophe "food, nourishment," related to trephein "make thrive, nourish, rear; to make solid, congeal, thicken."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
trophy in Medicine

-trophy

suff.
  1. Nutrition; growth:hypertrophy.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.