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Webster 1913 Edition

Trick

Trick

,
Noun.
[D.
trek
a pull, or drawing, a trick,
trekken
to draw; akin to LG.
trekken
, MHG.
trecken
,
trechen
, Dan.
trække
, and OFries.
trekka
. Cf.
Track
,
Trachery
,
Trig
,
Adj.
,
Trigger
.]
1.
An artifice or stratagem; a cunning contrivance; a sly procedure, usually with a dishonest intent;
as, a
trick
in trade
.
He comes to me for counsel, and I show him a
trick
.
South.
I know a trick worth two of that.
Shakespeare
2.
A sly, dexterous, or ingenious procedure fitted to puzzle or amuse;
as, a bear’s
tricks
; a juggler's
tricks
.
3.
Mischievous or annoying behavior; a prank;
as, the
tricks
of boys
.
Prior.
4.
A particular habit or manner; a peculiarity; a trait;
as, a
trick
of drumming with the fingers; a
trick
of frowning
.
The
trick
of that voice I do well remember.
Shakespeare
He hath a
trick
of Cœur de Lion's face.
Shakespeare
5.
A knot, braid, or plait of hair.
[Obs.]
B. Jonson.
6.
(Card Playing)
The whole number of cards played in one round, and consisting of as many cards as there are players.
On one nice
trick
depends the general fate.
Pope.
7.
(Naut.)
A turn; specifically, the spell of a sailor at the helm, – usually two hours.
8.
A toy; a trifle; a plaything.
[Obs.]
Shak.
Syn. – Stratagem; wile; fraud; cheat; juggle; finesse; sleight; deception; imposture; delusion; imposition.

Trick

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Tricked
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Tricking
.]
1.
To deceive by cunning or artifice; to impose on; to defraud; to cheat;
as, to
trick
another in the sale of a horse
.
2.
To dress; to decorate; to set off; to adorn fantastically; – often followed by up, off, or out.
“ Trick her off in air.”
Pope.
People lavish it profusely in
tricking
up their children in fine clothes, and yet starve their minds.
Locke.
They are simple, but majestic, records of the feelings of the poet; as little
tricked
out for the public eye as his diary would have been.
Macaulay.
3.
To draw in outline, as with a pen; to delineate or distinguish without color, as arms, etc., in heraldry.
They forget that they are in the statutes: . . . there they are
tricked
, they and their pedigrees.
B. Jonson.

Webster 1828 Edition

Trick

TRICK

,
Noun.
[L. tricor, to play tricks, to trifle, to baffle. We see the same root in the Low L. intrico, to fold, and in intrigue. Trick is from drawing, that is, a drawing aside, or a folding, interweaving, implication.]
1.
An artifice or stratagem for the purpose of deception; a fraudful contrivance for an evil purpose, or an underhand scheme to impose upon the world; a cheat or cheating. We hear of tricks in bargains, and tricks of state.
He comes to me for counsel, and I show him a trick.
2.
A dexterous artifice.
On one nice trick depends the gen'ral fate.
3.
Vicious practice; as the tricks of youth.
4.
The sly artifice or legerdemain of a juggler; as the tricks of a merry Andrew.
5.
A collection of cards laid together.
6.
An unexpected event.
Some trick not worth an egg. [Unusual.]
7.
A particular habit or manner; as, he has a trick of drumming with his fingers, or a trick of frowning. [This word is in common use in America, and by no means vulgar.]

TRICK

,
Verb.
T.
To deceive; to impose on; to defraud; to cheat; as, to trick another in the sale of a horse.

TRICK

,
Verb.
T.
To dress; to decorate; to set off; to adorn fantastically.
Trick her off in air.
It is often followed by up, off, or out.
People are lavish in tricking up their children in fine clothes, yet starve their minds.

TRICK

,
Verb.
I.
To live by deception and fraud.

Definition 2024

Trick

Trick

See also: trick

German

Noun

Trick m ‎(genitive Tricks, plural Tricks)

  1. trick
  2. ruse
  3. gimmick

Related terms

trick

trick

See also: Trick

English

Adjective

trick ‎(comparative tricker, superlative trickest)

  1. (slang) Stylish or cool.
    Wow, your new sportscar is so trick.

Noun

trick ‎(plural tricks)

  1. Something designed to fool or swindle.
    It was just a trick to say that the house was underpriced.‎
  2. A single piece of a magician's (or any variety entertainer's) act.
    And for my next trick, I will pull a wombat out of a duffel bag.‎
  3. An effective, clever or quick way of doing something.
    • 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.
    tricks of the trade;  what's the trick of getting this chair to fold up?‎
  4. Mischievous or annoying behavior; a prank.
    the tricks of boys
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Prior to this entry?)
  5. (dated) A particular habit or manner; a peculiarity; a trait.
    a trick of drumming with the fingers; a trick of frowning
    • William Shakespeare, King Lear act IV, scene VI:
      The trick of that voice I do well remember.
    • William Shakespeare,King John Act I, scene I
      He hath a trick of Cœur de Lion's face.
  6. A knot, braid, or plait of hair.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Ben Jonson to this entry?)
  7. (card games) A sequence in which each player plays a card and a winning play is determined.
    I was able to take the second trick with the queen of hearts.‎
    • Alexander Pope
      On one nice trick depends the general fate.
  8. (slang) An act of prostitution. Generally used with turn.
    At the worst point, she was turning ten tricks a day.‎
  9. (slang) A customer to a prostitute.
    As the businessman rounded the corner, she thought, "Here comes another trick."‎
  10. An entertaining difficult physical action.
    That's a nice skateboard, but can you do any tricks on it?‎
    • 1995, All Aboard for Space: Introducing Space to Youngsters (page 158)
      Yo-yo tricks involving sleeping the yo-yo (like "walking the dog" and "rocking the baby") cannot be performed in space.
  11. A daily period of work, especially in shift-based jobs.
    • 1885, Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen, The Conductor and Brakeman, page 496:
      On third trick from 12 m. to 8 am, we have W. A. White, formerly operator at Wallula, who thus far has given general satisfaction.
    • 1899, New York (State), Bureau of Statistics, Deptartment of Labor, Annual Report:
      Woodside Junction—On 8 hour basis, first trick $60, second trick $60, third trick $50.
    • 1949, Labor arbitration reports, page 738:
      The Union contends that Fifer was entitled to promotion to the position of Group Leader on the third trick in the Core Room Department.
  12. (nautical) A sailor's spell of work at the helm, usually two hours long.
  13. A toy; a trifle; a plaything.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

Synonyms

Translations

Verb

trick ‎(third-person singular simple present tricks, present participle tricking, simple past and past participle tricked)

  1. (transitive) To fool; to cause to believe something untrue; to deceive.
    You tried to trick me when you said that house was underpriced.
  2. (heraldry) To draw (as opposed to blazon - to describe in words).
    • 1600, Hamlet, Act 2, by Shakespeare
      The rugged Pyrrhus, he whose sable arms, / Black as his purpose, did the night resemble / When he lay couched in the ominous horse, / Hath now this dread and black complexion smear'd / With heraldry more dismal; head to foot / Now is he total gules; horridly trick'd / With blood of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons […]
    • Ben Jonson
      They forget that they are in the statutes: […] there they are tricked, they and their pedigrees.
  3. To dress; to decorate; to adorn fantastically; often followed by up, off, or out.
    • Alexander Pope
      Trick her off in air.
    • John Locke
      Tricking up their children in fine clothes.
    • Macaulay
      They are simple, but majestic, records of the feelings of the poet; as little tricked out for the public eye as his diary would have been.

Synonyms

Translations

Derived terms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [tʀɪk]

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