trump

[truhmp]

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

Informal. a fine person; brick.

verb (used with object)

Cards. to take with a trump.

to excel; surpass; outdo.

verb (used without object)

Cards.

to play a trump.
to take a trick with a trump.

Verb Phrases

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.

Origin of trump

First recorded in 1520–30; unexplained variant of triumph

Related formstrump·less, adjective

trump

[truhmp]Literary.

noun

a trumpet.

its sound.

verb (used without object)

to blow a trumpet.

Origin of trump

1250–1300; (noun) Middle English trompe < Old French < Old High German trumpa, variant of trumba trumpet; (v.) Middle English trompen < Old French tromper, derivative of trompe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for trumped

outdo, overtake, exceed, finesse, outsmart, excel, surpass, defeat

Examples from the Web for trumped

Contemporary Examples of trumped

The depositions of other officers suggested that the “property damage” charges were not just bizarre, but trumped up.
The Day Ferguson Cops Were Caught in a Bloody Lie
Michael Daly
August 15, 2014
The answer was to ensure that individual liberty was not trumped by religion or government or corporations.
The Supreme Court Turns the First Amendment Into a Weapon for Corporations
Sally Kohn
July 8, 2014
The DOJ disagrees, saying that these are existing procedures in place that are not trumped by the Farm Bill.
Kentucky Tells Feds: Hands Off Our Hemp!
Abby Haglage
May 21, 2014
No issue better captures the dysfunction of Washington than the trumped up debate over the Keystone XL pipeline.
Keystone Pipeline Is D.C.’s Dumbest Debate
Claire Casey
May 12, 2014
It explains why a trumped up story of online vitriol—we are, mind you, talking about Jeopardy!
Inside the Misunderstood Mind of Jeopardy! Champ Arthur Chu, Who Is Not Ruining the Show
Sujay Kumar
February 24, 2014

Historical Examples of trumped

I led out my diamond ace and Armitage trumped from his hand.
Competition
James Causey
She trumped his best card, and, at the end of the hand, he asked her the reason why.
Two Suffolk Friends
Francis Hindes Groome
Is that trumped up, farcical idea, your excuse for fighting me?
Making People Happy
Thompson Buchanan
And so this charge against my father was trumped up to ruin him.
Counsel for the Defense
Leroy Scott
They would declare I had trumped up the case to forestall my dismissal.
Hilda Wade
Grant Allen

British Dictionary definitions for trumped

trump

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

Word Origin for trump

C16: variant of triumph

trump

noun

a trumpet or the sound produced by one

the last trump 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

(intr) British slang to expel intestinal gas through the anus

Word Origin for trump

C13: from Old French trompe, from Old High German trumpa trumpet; compare trombone

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

Word Origin and History for trumped

trump

n.1

"playing card of a suit ranking above others," 1520s, alteration of triumph, name of a card game.

trump

"fabricate, devise," 1690s, from trump "deceive, cheat" (1510s), from Middle English trumpen (late 14c.), from Old French tromper "deceive," of uncertain origin, perhaps from a verb meaning "to blow a trumpet." Related: Trumped; trumping. Trumped up "false, concocted" first recorded 1728.

trump

n.2

"trumpet," c.1300, from Old French trompe "long, tube-like musical wind instrument" (12c.), cognate with Provençal tromba, Italian tromba, all probably from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German trumpa and Old Norse trumba "trumpet"), of imitative origin.

trump

"surpass, beat," 1580s, from trump (n.). Related: Trumped; trumping.

Idioms and Phrases with trumped

trump

In addition to the idioms beginning with trump

trump card
trump up

also see:

hold all the aces (trumps)
turn up trumps