trump — to surpass or beat someone or something, especially by a sudden or unexpected action
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to surpass or beat someone or something, especially by a sudden or unexpected action
Pronunciation (IPA): /trʌmp/
Example Sentences
- In the card game, an ace of hearts trumps a king of spades if hearts are trump.
- My little brother thinks his tiny robot toy can trump my giant dinosaur toy in every battle.
- The prosecutor was accused of trumping up evidence to win the case.
trump
VERB[/trʌmp/]
to surpass or beat someone or something, especially by a sudden or unexpected action
Her final ace trumps his winning hand at the poker table.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
This word derives from French 'triomphe' (victory, triumph). Originally used in card games to denote the strongest suit—literally 'the suit that brings victory'—the term later evolved to mean 'to surpass or exceed' in general usage.
Breakdown
triomphe (victory, triumph) → trump (highest card in a suit; to surpass). The morphological shift from French triomphe to English trump involved phonetic reduction and semantic broadening from a card-game term to a general verb meaning to outrank or overcome.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“In the card game, an ace of hearts trumps a king of spades if hearts are trump.”
“My little brother thinks his tiny robot toy can trump my giant dinosaur toy in every battle.”
“The prosecutor was accused of trumping up evidence to win the case.”
“No matter how good your excuse is, my grandmother's guilt-trip story will always trump it.”
📚Related Words
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