tryst
Americannoun
-
an appointment to meet at a certain time and place, especially one made somewhat secretly by lovers.
- Synonyms:
- rendezvous, assignation
-
an appointed meeting.
- Synonyms:
- rendezvous, assignation
-
an appointed place of meeting.
- Synonyms:
- rendezvous
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
an appointment to meet, esp secretly
-
the place of such a meeting or the meeting itself
verb
Usage
What does tryst mean? A tryst is an appointment made to meet at a specific place and time, especially one made in secret by lovers, as in The two employees arranged a tryst for meeting secretly after work. Tryst is also the meeting itself or the place where the meeting will happen, as in Paul snuck out of his room and headed to the tryst. Uncommonly, tryst can be used as a verb to mean to plan a meeting, as in Romeo and Juliet met outside the balcony and secretly trysted. Example: The married businessman denied all accusations that he had had a secret tryst with one of his female business partners.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
trystsimple
-
trystssimple
-
have trystedperfect
-
has trystedperfect
-
am trystingprogressive
-
are trystingprogressive
-
is trystingprogressive
-
have been trystingperfect progressive
-
has been trystingperfect progressive
Past
-
trystedsimple
-
had trystedperfect
-
was trystingprogressive
-
were trystingprogressive
-
had been trystingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tryst
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English triste “appointed hunting-station,” from Old French, from Germanic; compare Gothic trausti “agreement, arrangement,” akin to Middle English trist “confidence,” Old English tryst (unrecorded); see trow, trust
Explanation
A meeting is when people get together for any reason. But when they are sneaking to meet, notably as secret lovers, it's called a tryst. The origin of the word tryst comes from Middle English, and originally referred to a designated hunting station. Today it has come to refer to mainly romantic meetings, often with a secretive feel to it. (That's appropriate — aren’t we all hunting for love?) The word tryst might also suggest a hint of danger or intrigue. Perhaps the most romantic tryst in literature was the meeting between Romeo and Juliet — and just look where they ended up!
Vocabulary lists containing tryst
100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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!
Scrabble: Words with no Vowels
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!
Mythology
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:
I didn’t understand it all until my Xiaomi tryst.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
You hear the influence most prominently on Symmetry, the story of a late-night tryst, whose propulsive rhythm is adorned by Gujurati drums and the sharp metallic twang of the Banzouki.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2025
Was it because she was left out of the truth of Aimee’s disappearance, mourning her death while her daughter was off on a tryst?
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2025
The tryst didn’t just give some of today’s wolves a black coat—it has also helped them survive in parts of North America where a measleslike virus can run rampant, according to a new study.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 19, 2022
But such a thing has not happened before, that Gandalf broke tryst and did not come when he promised.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Her summer is transfigured by their innocent trysts: “There was the still water of a lake. There were a garden’s scents and its delicious twilight air.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026
What begins as a series of secret trysts swells over a decade into fervent, undeniable love.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2026
These primeval trysts gave us traits that persist in some people today, including an ability to survive at high altitude and a vulnerability to infections such as COVID.
From Scientific American ● Dec. 20, 2022
For never was a story of more woe than this — and I’m not talking about the trysts of Romeo.
From New York Times ● Oct. 13, 2022
The palace of the King of Elfhame has many secret alcoves and hidden corridors, perfect for trysts or assassins or staying out of the way and being really dull at parties.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
The Sun, owned by Rupert Murdoch, who also owns the Sunday Times, edited by Bordes' former beau Neil, polled British national editors to find out if they too had trysted with Bordes.
From Time Magazine Archive
O Mary, at thy window be, It is the wished, the trysted hour!
From Lyra Heroica A Book of Verse for Boys by Various
Chaste Christ! that unto my life's last breath I trysted with Sorrow and mate with Death; At every hour of the night's black deep, These are the arrows that murder sleep!
From A Celtic Psaltery by Graves, Alfred Perceval
"Not a man in Scotland could have trysted me at an hour when all my folk were in their rooms and maybe sleeping."
From A Song of a Single Note A Love Story by Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston
And do ye no think that I have mind of the bonny simmer days, the lang miles o’ the bluid-red heather, the cryin’ o’ the whaups, and the lad and the lassie that was trysted?
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. XIX (of 25) The Ebb-Tide; Weir of Hermiston by Stevenson, Robert Louis
She keeps on lying to Maureen, keeps on trysting with Dana, keeps on fishing for affection from Neale, keeps on resenting others and cheering herself up with mental put-downs.
From New York Times ● Oct. 1, 2019
He is a Volkswagen Beetle who, befitting a Disney Studios creation, does wheelstands when people insult him or transports them to trysting places as the mood takes him.
From Time Magazine Archive
Last week the three still hung on, held their trysting with Death once more, but this time another draped chair, was added to the swaths of barren seats closing in on the survivors.
From Time Magazine Archive
The great vault of Atlantic City's "world's largest" Convention Hall, national trysting place of bigwig and bruiser, was filled, last week, with fine dust raised by the heels of 10,000 school teachers.
From Time Magazine Archive
Dost remember twenty years aback--the trysting place under the Holmwood Oak?--Ah!
From A Lad of Grit A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea in Restoration Times by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)
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.
