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

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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

Trues I live, said the astrologer, and my street-cloes, too.
Short Sixes|H. C. Bunner
Only a few have not lost it, and the Trues send all their Spirit People to work with that few.
The Flute of the Gods|Marah Ellis Ryan

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