trump
/trʌmp/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- A brass musical instrument: A trumpet, especially in archaic or poetic usage.
- The suit in a card game that outranks all others: In games like bridge or whist, the suit chosen to be superior for a particular hand.
- A playing card of the trump suit: A card that belongs to the suit designated as trumps and can win a trick over cards of other suits.
Verb:
- To play a trump card: To play a card from the trump suit, thereby winning the trick unless beaten by a higher trump.
- To outdo or surpass: To get the better of someone or something; to best.
- To proclaim or announce loudly or triumphantly: To sound forth like a trumpet.
- To fabricate or invent falsely: To concoct a false story or accusation (used with "up").
Usage Examples
Noun:
- He played a high trump and won the trick.
- In this hand, hearts are trumps.
- (Archaic) The sound of the trump echoed across the field.
Verb:
- She trumped my ace with the king of trumps.
- His latest invention trumped all previous designs.
- The scandal was trumped up by his political opponents.
Advanced Usage
"To turn up trumps": To be surprisingly helpful or successful; to come through in a difficult situation.
- I was in a tight spot, but my friend really turned up trumps and lent me the money.
"To play one's trump card": To use one's most powerful or valuable resource.
- The company played its trump card by revealing the groundbreaking new technology.
Variants and Related Words
- Trump card (n): Literally, a card of the trump suit. Figuratively, a decisive advantage or resource held in reserve.
- Trumpery (n, archaic): Worthless finery; nonsense. (Adjective: Showy but worthless).
- Trumpet (n): The modern brass instrument from which "trump" is derived.
Synonyms
- Verb (to surpass): Outdo, outshine, beat, best, top, exceed.
- Verb (to fabricate): Concoct, fabricate, invent, forge, cook up.
- Noun (card): (No direct synonym; context-specific).
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Trump up: To invent or fabricate something, typically something false or incriminating.
- The evidence against him was clearly trumped up.
Related Idioms
- Hold all the trumps: To have all the advantages in a situation.
- In the negotiation, she held all the trumps.
- A trumped-up charge/accusation: A false accusation that has been fabricated.
- He was arrested on a trumped-up charge.
Noun
- a brass musical instrument with a brilliant tone; has a narrow tube and a flared bell and is played by means of valves
- (card games) the suit that has been declared to rank above all other suits for the duration of the hand
- clubs were declared trumps
- a trump can take a trick even when a card of a different suit is led
- a playing card in the suit that has been declared trumps
- the ace of trumps is a sure winner
Verb
- proclaim or announce with or as if with a fanfare
- play a trump
- get the better of
- the goal was to best the competition
- produce a sound as if from a trumpet