trump
trump Lexical Profile
trump Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To surpass, beat, or outweigh someone or something by saying or doing something better.
"In emergency medicine, saving the patient's life always trumps administrative paperwork."
To play a trump card on a card of another suit in trick-taking card games.
"Having no hearts left in his hand, he trumped his opponent's ace with a small spade."
• noun
A playing card of a suit chosen to rank above the others, which can win a trick when a card of a different suit has been led.
"She waited until the final round of the game to play her last trump."
A decisive advantage or valuable resource, especially one held in reserve until an opportune moment.
"The defense attorney held back the witness's alibi as a final trump during the cross-examination."
British A helpful, reliable, or admirable person (used in informal, somewhat dated contexts).
"He really turned up trumps and helped us move all our heavy furniture in the rain."
A trumpet or the resonant sound produced by a trumpet (now archaic or literary).
"In classic poetry, the archangel's blast is often referred to as the last trump."
• Rhymes for trump
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
In card-playing senses, the word is a 16th-century alteration of 'triumph', once the name of a popular trick-taking game. In the archaic sense of a trumpet, it derives via Old French 'trompe' from a Germanic root.