anything taken in war, hunting, competition, etc., especially when preserved as a memento; spoil, prize, or award.
anything serving as a token or evidence of victory, valor, skill, etc..
a sports trophy.
a symbol of success that is used to impress others.
He bought the lavish home as a trophy.
a carving, painting, or other representation of objects associated with or symbolic of victory or achievement.
any memento or memorial.
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.
an object such as a silver or gold cup that is symbolic of victory in a contest, esp a sporting contest; prize
a memento of success, esp one taken in war or hunting
a memorial to a victory, usually consisting of captured arms raised on the battlefield or in a public place
a representation of such a memorial
an ornamental carving that represents a group of weapons, etc
informal (modifier) highly desirable and regarded as a symbol of wealth or success
a trophy wife
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.
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
< Greek -trophia nutrition, equivalent to troph ( ḗ ) food + -ia -y 3
A trophy is a prize given for winning a competition. Often made of metal (or plastic meant to look like metal), a trophy may not have much monetary value, but the pride it gives the person who receives it can be priceless. Trophy comes from the Greek word tropē, meaning "a turning, defeat of the enemy." It later came to mean "a monument of victory," which it still celebrates today. Think of the overjoyed actor who holds his Oscar — a trophy — in the air during his acceptance speech, or a team of eight year old soccer players who, in their group photo, hold their trophies in one hand while raising the index finger of their other hand, meaning "We're number one!"
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Consider the unprecedented heights to which Chesney took tiny James Madison, and think of the places he can go with a junior QB whose trajectory had him headed toward Heisman Trophy hopefuldom before turbulence hit.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
But it was one that quickly paid off with Robitaille recording 191 points in his final junior season, then scoring 45 goals and winning the Calder Trophy in his first NHL campaign.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026
India refused to travel to Pakistan to play in the Champions Trophy in 2025, while Pakistan played their matches in the recent T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
The all-rounder struggled at the Champions Trophy as England lost all three of their matches.
From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026
He had won and been proud to win the Galbraith Football Trophy and the Contact Sport Award, and there were two or three other athletic prizes he was sure to get this year or next.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
