trumped-up
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of trumped-up
Explanation
Something that's trumped-up is faked or fabricated to use as an excuse. You might be tempted to tell your parents a trumped-up story about a mean math teacher to explain a bad grade. When you hear about someone being arrested on "trumped-up charges," that means that they've been falsely accused. There's a sense of exaggeration in this term, as well—if your excuse for being late is trumped-up, you're concocting extra details to make it sound more impressive. Trumped-up was first recorded in the early 18th century, and it comes from the idiomatic trump up, "devise deceitfully or dishonestly."
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.
But I am frustrated as a medical doctor that a complex issue like fertility—and the trumped-up threat of small penises and “population collapse”—was hijacked without scientific merit as the main argument against plastic.
From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2026
Indeed at one point Sarkozy compares himself with France's most famous victim of justice, Alfred Dreyfus – the Jewish officer who was sent to Devil's Island on a trumped-up espionage charge.
From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2025
Mr. Lai has been in prison on trumped-up charges ever since.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025
Instead, they were arrested on trumped-up obscenity charges and subjected to expensive litigation before the case against them was thrown out for lack of evidence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2024
At the very last second, just as Charles was nearing victory, the batty billionaire disqualified him on a trumped-up technicality.
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
