trust

[ truhst ]

/ trʌst /

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See synonyms for: trust / trusted / trusting / trustable on Thesaurus.com

noun

reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.

confident expectation of something; hope.

confidence in the certainty of future payment for property or goods received; credit: to sell merchandise on trust.

a person on whom or thing on which one relies:God is my trust.

the condition of one to whom something has been entrusted.

the obligation or responsibility imposed on a person in whom confidence or authority is placed: a position of trust.

charge, custody, or care: to leave valuables in someone's trust.

something committed or entrusted to one's care for use or safekeeping, as an office, duty, or the like; responsibility; charge.

Law.

a fiduciary relationship in which one person (the trustee) holds the title to property (the trust estate or trust property) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary).
the property or funds so held.

Commerce.

an illegal combination of industrial or commercial companies in which the stock of the constituent companies is controlled by a central board of trustees, a group of people who have assumed the authority to supervise the affairs of the constituent companies, thus making it possible to manage the companies so as to minimize production costs, control prices, eliminate competition, etc.
any large industrial or commercial corporation or combination having a monopolistic or semimonopolistic control over the production of some commodity or service.

Archaic. reliability.

adjective

Law. of or relating to trusts or a trust.

verb (used without object)

to rely upon or place confidence in someone or something (usually followed by in or to): to trust in another's honesty; trusting to luck.

to have confidence; hope: Things work out if one only trusts.

to sell merchandise on credit.

verb (used with object)

to have trust or confidence in; rely or depend on.

to believe.

to expect confidently; hope (usually followed by a clause or infinitive as object): trusting the job would soon be finished; trusting to find oil on the land.

to commit or consign with trust or confidence.

to permit to remain or go somewhere or to do something without fear of consequences: He does not trust his children out of his sight.

to invest with a trust; entrust or charge with the responsibility for something: We trust her to improve the finances of the company within the year.

to give credit to (a person) for goods, services, etc., supplied: Will you trust us till payday?

Verb Phrases

trust to, to rely on; trust: Never trust to luck!

OTHER WORDS FOR trust

1 certainty, belief, faith.

8 commitment, commission.

17 credit.

19 entrust.

See synonyms for trust 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 trust

in trust, in the position of being left in the care or guardianship of another: She left money to her uncle to keep in trust for her children.

Origin of trust

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English noun from Old Norse traust “trust” (cognate with German Trost “comfort”); Middle English verb trusten, from Old Norse treysta, derivative of traust

synonym study for trust

1. Trust, assurance, confidence imply a feeling of security. Trust implies instinctive unquestioning belief in and reliance upon something: to have trust in one's parents. Confidence implies conscious trust because of good reasons, definite evidence, or past experience: to have confidence in the outcome of events. Assurance implies absolute confidence and certainty: to feel an assurance of victory.

OTHER WORDS FROM trust

trust·a·ble, adjectivetrust·a·bil·i·ty, nountruster, nounnon·trust, noun

o·ver·trust, verbself-trust, nounun·trust·a·ble, adjectiveun·trust·ed, adjectivewell-trusted, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH trust

board, committee, council, panel, trust

Words nearby trust

truss bridge, trussed, truss hoop, trussing, truss rod, trust, trust account, trustafarian, trustbuster, trust busting, trust company

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use trust in a sentence

Hire the best people, people you trust, people whose judgment you trust.
What if Your Company Had No Rules? (Bonus Episode)|Maria Konnikova|September 12, 2020|Freakonomics
Public schools have lost parent trust on this issue despite their continued lip service, and charter schools know it.
Our Public Schools Have a Customer Service Problem|Thomas Courtney|September 10, 2020|Voice of San Diego
We asked leaders from the two companies about their high-trust, inclusive workplace cultures and how they’ve responded to the coronavirus crisis.
How the Best Workplaces in Manufacturing have risen to the COVID-19 challenge|lbelanger225|September 10, 2020|Fortune
Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot — and missed.
A secret of science: Mistakes boost understanding|Rachel Kehoe|September 10, 2020|Science News For Students

Typically, each user in such a system needs to be directly wired to the other or connected via trusted nodes, which can make large networks costly and increase the number of windows for hackers to exploit.
A New Breakthrough Just Brought City-Wide Quantum Communication Into Reach|Edd Gent|September 7, 2020|Singularity Hub
We proud skeptics would rather trust the demonstrable facts than the alleged truth.
On Torture, Chuck Johnson & Sondheim|James Poulos|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And ultimately this creates steadily eroding trust among voters for not just politics but the institutions of government.
Just What We Needed: More Campaign Spending|Mark McKinnon|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Others have taken the stage to tell women to just work harder and trust in karma.
Tech’s Male ‘Feminists’ Aren’t Helping|Cate Huston, Karen Catlin|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If she wants voters to believe and trust in her, she must court favor with the local pastor, Jeremiah.
The Good Wife’s Religion Politics: Voters Have No Faith in Alicia's Atheism|Regina Lizik|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In order for a reunion to happen, it would take a high level of trust, musically, on everything that happened.
Wyclef Jean Talks Lauryn Hill, the Yele Haiti Controversy, and Chris Christie|Marlow Stern|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If you throw away this chance, you will both richly deserve to be hanged, as I sincerely trust you will be.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
There are three things a wise man will not trust: the wind, the sunshine of an April day, and woman's plighted faith.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
He must trust to his human merits, and not miracles, for his Sonship is of no value in this conflict.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
As if unwilling to trust himself longer in dangerous companionship, he went up to town with Thomas Carr.
Elster's Folly|Mrs. Henry Wood
I would not trust their removal to any other hand, and so, the panel comes out without a shake.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

British Dictionary definitions for trust

trust

/ (trʌst) /

noun

reliance on and confidence in the truth, worth, reliability, etc, of a person or thing; faithRelated adjective: fiducial

a group of commercial enterprises combined to monopolize and control the market for any commodity: illegal in the US

the obligation of someone in a responsible positiona position of trust

custody, charge, or carea child placed in my trust

a person or thing in which confidence or faith is placed

commercial credit

an arrangement whereby a person to whom the legal title to property is conveyed (the trustee) holds such property for the benefit of those entitled to the beneficial interest
property that is the subject of such an arrangement
the confidence put in the trusteeRelated adjective: fiduciary

(in the British National Health Service) a self-governing hospital, group of hospitals, or other body providing health-care services, which operates as an independent commercial unit within the NHS

See trust company, trust account (def. 2)

(modifier) of or relating to a trust or truststrust property

verb

(tr; may take a clause as object) to expect, hope, or supposeI trust that you are well

(when tr, may take an infinitive; when intr, often foll by in or to) to place confidence in (someone to do something); have faith (in); rely (upon)I trust him to tell her

(tr) to consign for carethe child was trusted to my care

(tr) to allow (someone to do something) with confidence in his or her good sense or honestyI trust my daughter to go

(tr) to extend business credit to

Derived forms of trust

trustable, adjectivetrustability, nountruster, noun

Word Origin for trust

C13: from Old Norse traust; related to Old High German trost solace

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

Cultural definitions for trust

trust

A combination of firms or corporations for the purpose of reducing competition and controlling prices throughout a business or industry. Trusts are generally prohibited or restricted by antitrust legislation. (Compare monopoly.)

Other Idioms and Phrases with trust

trust

see brain trust; in trust.

trust

OTHER WORDS FOR trust

Idioms about trust

Origin of trust

synonym study for trust

OTHER WORDS FROM trust

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH trust

Words nearby trust

Words related to trust

How to use trust in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for trust

Derived forms of trust

Word Origin for trust

Cultural definitions for trust

Other Idioms and Phrases with trust