trump
1 Americannoun
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Cards.
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any playing card of a suit that for the time outranks the other suits, such a card being able to take any card of another suit.
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(used with a singular verb) Often trumps the suit itself.
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Informal: Older Use. a fine, admirable person.
verb (used without object)
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Cards.
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to play a trump.
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to take a trick with a trump.
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verb phrase
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trump up to devise deceitfully or dishonestly, as an accusation; fabricate.
Try as they might, they were unable to trump up a convincing case against him.
noun
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Donald J(ohn), born 1946, 45th president of the United States 2017–21.
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Melania Melanija Knavs, born 1970, U.S. First Lady 2017–21 (wife of Donald J. Trump).
noun
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Also called: trump card.
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any card from the suit chosen as trumps
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this suit itself; trumps
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Also called: trump card. a decisive or advantageous move, resource, action, etc
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informal a fine or reliable person
verb
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to play a trump card on (a suit, or a particular card of a suit, that is not trumps)
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(tr) to outdo or surpass
noun
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a trumpet or the sound produced by one
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the final trumpet call that according to the belief of some will awaken and raise the dead on the Day of Judgment
verb
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(intr) to produce a sound upon or as if upon the trumpet
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(tr) to proclaim or announce with or as if with a fanfare
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slang (intr) to expel intestinal gas through the anus
- hold all the aces (trumps)
- turn up trumps
More idioms and phrases containing trump
Other Word Forms
- trumpless adjective
Etymology
Origin of trump1
First recorded in 1520–30; unexplained variant of triumph
Origin of trump2
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun tromp(e), troump, from Old French tromp(e), tronpe; probably of Germanic origin; compare Old High German trumpa, Old Norse trumba “trumpet”
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.
In the wake of an anticipated fiber craze that is expected to trump last year’s protein-maxxing dietary fad, chia seeds have become all the rage.
From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026
“Liquidity needs elsewhere continue to trump geopolitical risk premium in gold,” Cooper said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
India's Bollywood is moving decisively towards a cinema of scale and confrontation -- where patriotism, spectacle, and ideological clarity increasingly trump nuance and narrative risk, industry insiders say.
From Barron's • Jan. 25, 2026
France’s president said that Europe now represents a rare refuge where predictability, loyalty, and rule of law still trump the “brutality” of “bullies.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 20, 2026
But there would be one more harsh lesson to show how inattention could trump even the most inspired engineering.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.