true

[ troo ]

/ tru /

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See synonyms for: true / trued / trueing / truer on Thesaurus.com

adjective, tru·er, tru·est.

being in accordance with the actual state or conditions; conforming to reality or fact; not false: a true story.

real; genuine; authentic: true gold; true feelings.

sincere; not deceitful: a true interest in someone's welfare.

firm in allegiance; loyal; faithful; steadfast: a true friend.

being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something: the true meaning of his statement.

conforming to or consistent with a standard, pattern, or the like: a true copy.

exact; precise; accurate; correct: a true balance.

of the right kind; such as it should be; proper: to arrange things in their true order.

properly so called; rightly answering to a description: true statesmanship.

legitimate or rightful: the true heir.

reliable, unfailing, or sure: a true sign.

exactly or accurately shaped, formed, fitted, or placed, as a surface, instrument, or part of a mechanism.

honest; honorable; upright.

Biology. conforming to the type, norm, or standard of structure of a particular group; typical: The lion is a true cat.

Animal Husbandry. purebred.

Navigation. (of a bearing, course, etc.) determined in relation to true north.

Archaic. truthful.

noun

exact or accurate formation, position, or adjustment: to be out of true.

the true, something that is true; truth.

adverb

in a true manner; truly; truthfully.

exactly or accurately.

in conformity with the ancestral type: to breed true.

verb (used with object), trued, tru·ing or true·ing.

to make true; shape, adjust, place, etc., exactly or accurately: to true the wheels of a bicycle after striking a pothole.

(especially in carpentry) to make even, symmetrical, level, etc. (often followed by up): to true up the sides of a door.

OTHER WORDS FOR true

1 factual, veracious.

3 honest.

4 trustworthy; staunch, constant, steady.

7 faithful.

See synonyms for true on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about true

come true, to have the expected or hoped-for result; become a reality: She couldn't believe that her dream would ever come true.

Origin of true

before 900; Middle English trewe (adj. and adv.), Old English trēowe (adj.) loyal, trusty, honest (see trow, truce); akin to Dutch trouw,German treu,Old Norse tryggr,Gothic triggws

synonym study for true

1. See real¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM true

trueness, nounhalf-true, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use true in a sentence

The kids described if those statements were true, not true or sometimes true.
Warning! Junk foods can harm a teen’s brain|Sharon Oosthoek|November 19, 2020|Science News For Students
While it’s true that Republicans are set to draw many more congressional districts than Democrats, they will still draw fewer than they did in 2011.
Republicans Won Almost Every Election Where Redistricting Was At Stake|Nathaniel Rakich (nathaniel.rakich@fivethirtyeight.com)|November 18, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Techamuanvivit is a friend of mine, and what began as a phone call to catch up turned into a two-part conversation about the true costs of closing versus remaining open during the pandemic.
The True Cost of Keeping a Restaurant Open During a Pandemic|Charlotte Druckman|November 11, 2020|Eater
That’s true for our elected officials, our football teams, and our fast food restaurants.
Meet the professional memers|Luke Winkie|November 11, 2020|Vox

WATCH NOWNo true friend would let you skip Casablanca while on a trip to Morocco.
Welcome to ‘Eater’s Guide to the World’|Eater Staff|November 11, 2020|Eater
If the face is somewhat irregular, it can be trued up by placing it on a block of wood and going over it with a rawhide hammer.
Copper Work|Augustus F. Rose
After the corner has been soldered and the box pickled, it is again placed over a block and trued up square.
Copper Work|Augustus F. Rose
When the handle has been sawed out and the edges trued up, it is fitted to the bowl part.
Copper Work|Augustus F. Rose
After the bowl part has been shaped it may be placed on the pitch block and the outline trued up with a chasing tool.
Copper Work|Augustus F. Rose
This will give the general shape of the bowl which may be trued up later by sawing and filing.
Copper Work|Augustus F. Rose

British Dictionary definitions for true

true

/ (truː) /

adjective truer or truest

not false, fictional, or illusory; factual or factually accurate; conforming with reality

(prenominal) being of real or natural origin; genuine; not synthetictrue leather

unswervingly faithful and loyal to friends, a cause, etca true follower
(as collective noun; preceded by the)the loyal and the true

faithful to a particular concept of truth, esp of religious trutha true believer

conforming to a required standard, law, or patterna true aim; a true fit

exactly in tunea true note

(of a compass bearing) according to the earth's geographical rather than magnetic polestrue north

biology conforming to the typical structure of a designated typesphagnum moss is a true moss, Spanish moss is not

physics not apparent or relative; taking into account all complicating factorsthe true expansion of a liquid takes into account the expansion of the container Compare apparent (def. 3)

not true informal unbelievable; remarkableshe's got so much money it's not true

true to life exactly comparable with reality

noun

correct alignment (esp in the phrases in true, out of true)

adverb

truthfully; rightly

precisely or unswervinglyhe shot true

biology without variation from the ancestral typeto breed true

verb trues, truing or trued

(tr) to adjust so as to make true

Derived forms of true

trueness, noun

Word Origin for true

Old English triewe; related to Old Frisian triūwe, Old Saxon, Old High German triuwi loyal, Old Norse tryggr; see trow, trust

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with true

true

In addition to the idioms beginning with true

true blue
true colors
true to

also see:

come true
course of true love
dream come true
find true north
hold good (true)
ring false (true)
run (true) to form
too good to be true
tried and true

true

OTHER WORDS FOR true

Idioms about true

Origin of true

synonym study for true

OTHER WORDS FROM true

Words related to true

How to use true in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for true

Derived forms of true

Word Origin for true

Other Idioms and Phrases with true