trophy

¹

[troh-fee]

noun

plural

trophies 

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.

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.

-trophy

²

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.

trophy

¹

/ ˈtrəʊfɪ /

noun

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. 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. informal,  (modifier) highly desirable and regarded as a symbol of wealth or success

   a trophy wife

-trophy

²

combining form

1. indicating a certain type of nourishment or growth

   dystrophy

Other Word Forms

• trophyless adjective
• -trophic combining form

Word History and Origins

Origin of trophy¹

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

Origin of trophy²

< Greek -trophia nutrition, equivalent to troph ( ḗ ) food + -ia -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of trophy¹

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

Origin of trophy²

from Greek -trophia , from trophē nourishment

Example Sentences

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United striker, currently at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, has not yet lifted the trophy but did win Euro 2016 with Portugal.

Read more on Barron's

The contest will be Guardiola's 100th as City manager in the competition, with the crowning moment coming in 2023 when they lifted the trophy after beating Inter Milan in the final in Istanbul.

Read more on BBC

The only major trophies missing from Littler's collection now are the European Championship and the World Masters.

Read more on BBC

Her turning point wasn't a trophy - it was realising she belonged at the national level.

Read more on BBC

A lap of Australia for the right to lift the smallest trophy in sport.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• citation 
• crown 
• cup 
• decoration 
• gold 
• keepsake 
• medal 
• memento 
• prize 
• souvenir 

When To Use

What does -trophy mean?

The combining form -trophy is used like a suffix variously meaning “nourishment, feeding, growth." It is also used to form nouns corresponding to adjectives ending in -trophic. The combining -trophy is often used in medical and scientific terms.The form -trophy comes from the Greek trophḗ, meaning “nourishment,” “food.”You may be familiar with terms like atrophy (equivalent to the Greek átrophos) from the Greek and dystrophy (from the New Latin dystrophia). Find out how these relate to -trophy and "nourishment" at our entries for these words.Corresponding forms of -trophy combined to the beginning of words are tropho- and troph-. Another form closely related to -trophy is -troph.