TRICK | Meaning In The Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of trick in English tricknoun [ C ] uk /trɪk/ us /trɪk/

trick noun [C] (ACT OF DECEIVING)

Add to word list Add to word list B1 an action that is intended to deceive, either as a way of cheating someone, or as a joke or form of entertainment: play a trick on She played a really nasty trick on me - she put syrup in my shampoo bottle!do a trick My niece was showing me all the tricks that she's learned to do with her new magic set.trick photography It's trick photography - she's supposed to look like she's walking on water. Synonym deception  be a trick of the light to be an effect caused by light, making something appear different: For a moment I thought you had a patch of grey hair, but it's just a trick of the light. See more  trick or treat what children say when they go trick-or-treating at Halloween: I thought I heard kids shouting "Trick or treat!" See more

• She played a dirty trick on me by telling me Diane was having a party when she wasn't.
• That was a pretty low trick to play.
• I'll show you a magic trick.
• They're plotting to play a trick on their brother.
• No one's gonna pull that kind of trick on me!

Cheating & tricking

• anti-fraud
• bad faith
• bamboozle
• bilk
• blackmail
• diddle
• feint
• fool
• foxed
• fraud
• funny business
• game fixing
• gyp
• overcharge
• prankish
• prankishly
• prankster
• pretext
• pretextual
• worm yourself/your way into something phrasal verb

See more results »

trick noun [C] (METHOD)

B2 an effective or quick way of doing something: trick to What's the trick to getting this chair to fold up? On page 21, some tricks to speed up your beauty routine. Synonym knack

• The trick to making custard is to keep stirring.
• He told me a few good tricks for controlling the class.
• In this article, she shares her beauty tricks with the nation.
• What's your trick for perfect pastry?

Ways of achieving things

• a means to an end idiom
• actively
• aid
• another
• avenue
• bases
• basis
• formula
• measure
• media
• method
• methodological
• methodologically
• procedure
• sop
• standard operating procedure
• strategy
• styleless
• stylistic
• vehicle

See more results »

trick noun [C] (SEX)

a sexual act by a prostitute (= someone who has sex for money): Prostitutes do business at the equivalent of $85 a trick.turn tricks Prostitutes turned tricks (= performed sexual acts) in cars on the dark and quiet streets. a person who someone has sex with without being in a relationship with them, or a customer of a prostitute: He picked up a trick downtown, brought him home and had sex with him. He was dumped for some young trick just looking for sex.

trick noun [C] (CARDS)

in card games, a set of cards played or won in one round (= one of several parts of a game): I took the last trick and won the game. She just wanted to win one trick to prove to them she knew how to play. Card games

• all in
• bidding
• BJ
• blackjack
• bridge
• busted flush
• canasta
• card sharp
• deuce
• diamond
• playing card
• pool
• queen
• re-raise
• rebid
• recut
• solitaire
• spade
• stick
• straight

See more results »

Idioms

do the trick every trick in the book how's tricks? trick of the trade trickverb [ T ] uk /trɪk/ us /trɪk/ B2 to deceive someone, often as a part of a plan: trick someone into doing something Dean tricked the old lady into giving him eight hundred dollars. Synonyms deceive fox UK to deceive someone

• deceiveThe cigarette companies deceived the public about the health risks of cigarettes.
• deceive yourselfYou'd be deceiving yourself if you believed that.
• trickShe felt they had tricked her into saying more than she intended.
• foolYou don't fool me with your innocent act.
• take inThey claimed to be destitute, but we weren't taken in.
• pull the wool over someone's eyesI'm not stupid. You can't pull the wool over my eyes like that.

See more results » Cheating & tricking

• anti-fraud
• bad faith
• bamboozle
• bilk
• blackmail
• diddle
• feint
• fool
• foxed
• fraud
• funny business
• game fixing
• gyp
• overcharge
• prankish
• prankishly
• prankster
• pretext
• pretextual
• worm yourself/your way into something phrasal verb

See more results » trickadjective [ before noun ] uk /trɪk/ us /trɪk/

trick adjective [before noun] (DECEIVING)

used to deceive someone, either as a joke or form of entertainment or so that they make a mistake: a trick question Sly & devious

• artful
• artfully
• artfulness
• backdoor
• calculating
• cunningly
• devious
• deviously
• deviousness
• disingenuous
• guile
• guileful
• guilefully
• legerdemain
• Machiavellian
• tricksy
• tricky
• underhand
• weaselly
• wily

See more results »

trick adjective [before noun] (WEAK)

US A trick part of the body, especially a joint (= place where two bones are connected), sometimes feels weak suddenly and unexpectedly: I have a trick ankle that gives me problems if I run too much. Problems with bones, joints & teeth

• achondroplasia
• acromegaly
• ankylosed
• ankylosis
• anti-arthritic
• buck teeth
• gingivitis
• graft-versus-host disease
• greenstick fracture
• GVHD
• hairline fracture
• herniated disc
• repetitive strain injury
• rheumatism
• spondylitis
• subluxation
• synovitis
• teeth gnashing
• teeth grinding
• toothache

See more results » (Definition of trick from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

trick | American Dictionary

tricknoun [ C ] us /trɪk/

trick noun [C] (ACT OF DECEIVING)

Add to word list Add to word list an action intended to deceive, either as a way of cheating someone or as a joke or form of entertainment: He showed us some card tricks.  trick or treat Trick or treat is what children say on Halloween, when they dress to look frightening or amusing and visit people’s homes to ask for candy: Are your kids too old for trick or treating (= visiting people’s homes to ask for candy)?

trick noun [C] (METHOD)

a quick or effective way of doing something: What’s the trick to pulling out this sofa bed?

Idiom

tricks of the trade trickadjective [ not gradable ] us /trɪk/

trick adjective [not gradable] (WEAK)

(of a part of the body, esp. a joint) sometimes feeling weak suddenly and unexpectedly: I’ve had a trick knee ever since I played football. trickverb [ T ] us /trɪk/

trick verb [T] (DECEIVE)

to make someone believe something that is not true, or to persuade someone to do something based on a false understanding of the facts: She tricked me into telling her what I was up to. (Definition of trick from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of trick

trick Although it is reasonable to respond by defending eclecticism, it is wor th noting that this pedagogy is not a bag of diverse tricks. From the Cambridge English Corpus Thus, the cuckoo deposits eggs in passerine nests, tricking the foster parents into incubating and feeding the cuckoo's young. From the Cambridge English Corpus Showing that certain psychics had used deception, and even replicating their tricks, did not prove that all psychics were fakes. From the Cambridge English Corpus Environment-driven resonances have their limits as far as explaining the full range of cognitive tricks goes. From the Cambridge English Corpus In this case, however, we are looking at one of the tricks that history keeps up its sleeve to confound prediction. From the Cambridge English Corpus A good account of the history of commercial design computing can be built on events introducing new representational tricks. From the Cambridge English Corpus A number of interesting tricks are combined together. From the Cambridge English Corpus He knows all its tricks and aptitudes; when to coax and when to force it, when to rely on it and when to distrust it. From the Cambridge English Corpus He played his tricks on women and children, in particular, and deluded them into spiritual crime. From the Cambridge English Corpus Modeling tricks and fitting techniques for multiresolution structures. From the Cambridge English Corpus He wasn't full of mannerisms and little tricks of the trade. From the Cambridge English Corpus To eliminate gravity's influence on a motion, for example, the art of experimentation offers many tricks. From the Cambridge English Corpus The priestly pretense to maternity is a grotesque parody - self-aggrandizing patriarchal power tricked out in the robes of female love and nurturance. From the Cambridge English Corpus Although the tricks may vary, the jaduwallah typically works in open spaces, streets, parks, fairs, and festivals, as a travelling entertainer. From the Cambridge English Corpus They were worried about being 'robbed' or tricked by people (including other farmers) replacing some of the product with petrol in the bottle. From the Cambridge English Corpus See all examples of trick These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with trick

trick

These are words often used in combination with trick.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

clever trickHe played many a clever trick on us, but never a deceitful or an underhand one. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0   dirty trickA dirty trick has been used to keep us out of the codecision procedure. From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English   little trickIn fact, the use of the tag model needs a little trick. From the Cambridge English Corpus   These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. See all collocations with trick What is the pronunciation of trick?

Translations of trick

in Chinese (Traditional) 欺騙行為, 騙局, 詭計… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 欺骗行为, 骗局, 诡计… See more in Spanish engaño, trampa, engañar… See more in Portuguese truque, trapaça, engano… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian युक्ती, खोडी, फसवणे… See more たくらみ, いたずら, 手品… See more aldatmaca, hile, oyun… See more tour [masculine], blague [feminine], ruse [feminine]… See more trampa, broma, truc… See more streek, truc, kunst-… See more ஒருவரை ஏமாற்றுவதற்கான ஒரு வழியாக அல்லது நகைச்சுவையாக அல்லது பொழுதுபோக்கு வடிவமாக ஏமாற்றும் நோக்கம் கொண்ட ஒரு செயல், ஏதாவது செய்வதற்கான பயனுள்ள அல்லது விரைவான வழி, ஒருவரை ஏமாற்ற… See more (छल या मज़ाक के लिए चली गई एक) चाल, दाँव-पेंच, तरकीब… See more ચાલાકી, યુક્તિ, ઠગ… See more trick, trick-… See more knep, list, trick… See more penipuan, muslihat, penuh muslihat… See more der Trick, Trick-…… See more puss [neuter], knep [neuter], spøk [masculine]… See more چال, گھات, مکرو فریب (اس کے تحت دھوکہ بھی دیا جاسکتا ہے اور مذاق کے طور پر بھی کوئی شرارت کی جاسکتی ہے)… See more хитрість, обман, фокус… See more ఉపాయం/యుక్తి, ఏదైనా చేయడానికి సమర్థవంతమైన లేదా శీఘ్ర మార్గం, మోసం చేయడం… See more কৌশল, প্রতারিত করা, ঠকানো… See more lest, trik, trikový… See more tipuan, sulap… See more เล่ห์เหลี่ยม, มายากล, หลอกลวง… See more sự lừa dối, ảo thuật, ảo… See more podstęp, kawał, dowcip… See more 속임수, 묘기, 재주… See more trucco, imbrogliare, ingannare… See more Need a translator?

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trichome BETA trichomonas trichomoniasis trichotillomania trick trick of the trade idiom trick or treat phrase trick play BETA trick question {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of trick

• hat trick
• trick play
• trick question
• confidence trick
• conjuring trick
• one-trick pony
• trick-or-treating

See all meanings

• tricks of the trade idiom
• do the trick idiom
• play a joke/trick phrase
• trick or treat phrase
• not miss a trick idiom
• go trick-or-treating phrase
• play a joke/trick on someone idiom

See all idioms and phrases

Word of the Day

red velvet cake

UK /ˌred ˈvel.vɪt ˌkeɪk/ US /ˌred ˈvel.vɪt ˌkeɪk/

a type of chocolate cake made with vinegar, buttermilk and red food colouring, with cream cheese icing on top

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• English   
  • Noun 
    • trick (ACT OF DECEIVING)
    • be a trick of the light
    • trick or treat
    • trick (METHOD)
    • trick (SEX)
    • trick (CARDS)
  Verb
  • Adjective 
    • trick (DECEIVING)
    • trick (WEAK)
• American   
  • Noun 
    • trick (ACT OF DECEIVING)
    • trick or treat
    • trick (METHOD)
  • Adjective 
    • trick (WEAK)
  • Verb 
    • trick (DECEIVE)
• Examples
• Collocations

• Translations
• Grammar
• All translations

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