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• trump
  trump

  noun
• Trump
  Trump

  noun

  Donald J(ohn), born 1946, 45th president of the United States 2017–21.

trump

¹ American  

[truhmp] / trʌmp /

noun

1. Cards.

   1. 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.

   2. (used with a singular verb) Often trumps the suit itself.

2. Informal: Older Use. a fine, admirable person.

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verb (used with object)

1. Cards. to take with a trump.

2. to excel; surpass; outdo.

verb (used without object)

1. Cards.

   1. to play a trump.

   2. to take a trick with a trump.

verb phrase

1. trump up to devise deceitfully or dishonestly, as an accusation; fabricate.

   Try as they might, they were unable to trump up a convincing case against him.

trump ² American  

[truhmp] / trʌmp /

noun

1. a trumpet.

2. the sound of a trumpet.

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verb (used without object)

1. to blow a trumpet.

Trump ³ American  

[truhmp] / trʌmp /

noun

1. Donald J(ohn), born 1946, 45th president of the United States 2017–21.

2. Melania Melanija Knavs, born 1970, U.S. First Lady 2017–21 (wife of Donald J. Trump).

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trump ¹ British  

/ trʌmp /

noun

1. Also called: trump card. 

   1. any card from the suit chosen as trumps

   2. this suit itself; trumps

2. Also called: trump card.  a decisive or advantageous move, resource, action, etc

3. informal a fine or reliable person

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verb

1. to play a trump card on (a suit, or a particular card of a suit, that is not trumps)

2. (tr) to outdo or surpass

trump ² British  

/ trʌmp /

noun

1. a trumpet or the sound produced by one

2. the final trumpet call that according to the belief of some will awaken and raise the dead on the Day of Judgment

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verb

1. (intr) to produce a sound upon or as if upon the trumpet

2. (tr) to proclaim or announce with or as if with a fanfare

3. slang (intr) to expel intestinal gas through the anus

trump Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing trump

• hold all the aces (trumps)
• turn up trumps

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Other Word Forms

• trumpless
  adjective

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.

Example Sentences

In another statement Monday, Macron said he commended President Trump during a phone call Sunday night for his “commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026

It likely also made the Iranians wonder whether Trump really wanted to make a deal.

From Slate • Jun. 1, 2026

But President Donald Trump said in his own social media post in the early afternoon that “talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026

President Donald Trump indicated Monday that talks were ongoing between the nations.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 1, 2026

Chris, she confesses, used to poke fun at her capitalist zeal by calling her the duchess of York, Ivana Trump McCandless, and "a rising successor to Leona Helmsley."

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• outdo
• overtake