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.
Even if France won its second World Cup eight years ago in Russia, French soccer remains in thrall to the generation that lifted the trophy for the first time in 1998.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The six shortlisted authors will receive £2,500 each and a specially bound edition of their book, while the eventual winner will receive a trophy and £50,000 in prize money.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the tournament final, in a foul-heavy match that ended with a brawl on the pitch and the Argentine squad turning its back during the trophy ceremony.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Chelsea ended last season without a trophy and finished 10th in the Premier League, but their academy teams won league and cup titles.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The Golden Hours were not looking at the 1979 Chess Club trophy, but staring at their really-not-so-bad reflections, horrified.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
During his decade in England, Guardiola won 20 trophies, including the Premier League six times, the FA Cup on three occasions, the League Cup five times and the Community Shield three times.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
He did not win trophies at The Dell, but was still a player of the highest class in Lawrie McMenemy's team, built around experienced stars such as Keegan, Alan Ball and Saints' great Mike Channon.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
He’s already scored 56 goals and won seven major trophies for club and country; Messi had 11 goals and four trophies at the same age.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
He leads from behind, they say, which is a polite way of saying he lets the ball and the trophies do the talking.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
It didn’t take me long to find the exhibit where Halliday’s five Game Designer of the Year trophies were displayed, next to a bronze statue of the man himself.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
