trophy wife
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of trophy wife
An Americanism dating back to 1985–90
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.
Demi Moore co-stars as a late oil baron’s trophy wife who’s trying to initiate a hostile takeover, and Sam Elliott joins the cast as the father of Thornton’s character.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 31, 2025
For Fahy, plotting life after “The Bold Type,” which ended in 2021, included auditioning for the role of a wealthy but unhappy trophy wife in the first season of “The White Lotus.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2025
"Trump clearly saw Diana as the ultimate trophy wife," Scott wrote.
From Salon • Mar. 16, 2023
Since we’re child-free and I already finished college, I suppose you could call me a trophy wife, but firstly, I’m nonbinary, and secondly, that’s the rub.
From Slate • Dec. 2, 2022
The elderly mother of the trophy wife of a tetchy physician just up and dies.
From New York Times • Jul. 22, 2021
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.
