trump
trump
1 American
[truhmp]
/ trʌmp /
noun
-
Cards.
-
any playing card of a suit that for the time outranks the other suits, such a card being able to take any card of another suit.
-
(used with a singular verb) Often trumps the suit itself.
-
-
Informal: Older Use. a fine, admirable person.
verb (used without object)
verb phrase
trump
2
American
[truhmp]
/ trʌmp /
Trump
3
American
[truhmp]
/ trʌmp /
noun
-
Donald J(ohn), born 1946, 45th president of the United States 2017–21.
-
Melania Melanija Knavs, born 1970, U.S. First Lady 2017–21 (wife of Donald J. Trump).
trump
1
British
/ trʌmp /
noun
-
Also called: trump card.
-
any card from the suit chosen as trumps
-
this suit itself; trumps
-
-
Also called: trump card. a decisive or advantageous move, resource, action, etc
-
informal a fine or reliable person
verb
-
to play a trump card on (a suit, or a particular card of a suit, that is not trumps)
-
(tr) to outdo or surpass
trump
2
British
/ trʌmp /
noun
-
a trumpet or the sound produced by one
-
the final trumpet call that according to the belief of some will awaken and raise the dead on the Day of Judgment
verb
-
(intr) to produce a sound upon or as if upon the trumpet
-
(tr) to proclaim or announce with or as if with a fanfare
-
slang (intr) to expel intestinal gas through the anus
trump
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of trump1
First recorded in 1520–30; unexplained variant of triumph
Origin of trump2
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun tromp(e), troump, from Old French tromp(e), tronpe; probably of Germanic origin; compare Old High German trumpa, Old Norse trumba “trumpet”
Explanation
To trump is to outrank or defeat someone or something, often in a highly public way. Safety might trump appearance when you're buying a car, or your desires may trump your brother's when it comes to making weekend plans. In the card game bridge, the trump card is the most powerful card in a particular round and defeats all the others — sort of like when your needs or wishes trump someone else's. Originally trump implied a deceptive form of victory involving cheating, but that sense has been largely lost, though it's still around in the term trumped up, meaning something that's been falsely made up. A politician may face trumped up charges that could ruin his career.
Vocabulary lists containing trump
Trumps
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
On Your Mark, Get Set, Commence Your Life!
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
History is made in PA: Clinton's DNC Acceptance Speech
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Uefa - Infantino's fiercest critic - dealt its trump card on Thursday by threatening to boycott all Fifa competitions, including the World Cup.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
The league already ceded its regular season to the offseason, leaning into free agency drama as a driving source of year-round intrigue, letting team-building trump teamwork.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
He executed wonderfully on the possibilities of technology and the commercial environment, even so stumbling into a gold mine to trump all gold mines, the iPhone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
“Tech exuberance continues to trump oil prices,” said Thomas Mathews, head of markets for the Asia Pacific region at Capital Economics.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
But there would be one more harsh lesson to show how inattention could trump even the most inspired engineering.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
In an interview with Axios published Sunday, Trump said “We are low keying it” with Iran.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 9, 2026
“I’ve had tremendous experience,” Trump said of the subject last year.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump first got interested in Albania while on a yacht trip through the Mediterranean after Trump’s first term, dropping anchor en route between Montenegro and Greece.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Four years later, Perot garnered a respectable 8.4%, and his Reform Party lasted until 2000, when Donald Trump made a brief attempt at a run under its banner.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
“And how you plan on getting rich, Mr. Trump? You think you could catch that many fish?”
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
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.
