I. trick 1 S3 /trɪk/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ trick , ↑ trickery , ↑ trickster ; adjective : ↑ tricky , ↑ trick ; verb : ↑ trick ]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Old North French ; Origin: trique , from trikier 'to deceive, cheat' , from Old French trichier ]
1 . SOMETHING THAT DECEIVES SOMEBODY something you do in order to deceive someone:
Pretending he doesn’t remember is an old trick of his.
He didn’t really lose his wallet – that’s just a trick.
2 . JOKE something you do to surprise someone and to make other people laugh:
I’m getting tired of your silly tricks.
The girls were playing tricks on their teacher.
3 . SOMETHING THAT MAKES THINGS APPEAR DIFFERENT something that makes things appear to be different from the way they really are:
After walking for hours in the hot sun, his mind began playing tricks on him.
At first he thought someone was coming towards him, but it was just a trick of the light.
4 . a dirty/rotten/mean trick an unkind or unfair thing to do:
He didn’t turn up? What a dirty trick!
5 . do the trick spoken if something does the trick, it solves a problem or provides what is needed to get a good result:
A bit more flour should do the trick.
6 . MAGIC a skilful set of actions that seem like magic, done to entertain people:
My uncle was always showing me card tricks when I was a kid.
a magic trick
7 . CLEVER METHOD a way of doing something that works very well but may not be easy to notice:
The trick is to bend your knees as you catch the ball.
a salesman who knew all the tricks of the trade (=clever methods used in a particular job)
8 . use/try every trick in the book to use every method that you know, even dishonest ones, to achieve what you want
9 . teach/show somebody a trick or two informal used to say that someone knows more than someone else or can do something better than them:
Experienced teachers can show new teachers a trick or two.
10 . somebody is up to their (old) tricks informal to be doing the same dishonest things that you have often done before
11 . CARDS the cards played or won in one part of a game of cards:
He won the first three tricks easily.
12 . HABIT have a trick of doing something British English to have a habit of using a particular expression or of moving your face or body in a particular way:
She had this trick of raising her eyebrows at the end of a question.
13 . never miss a trick spoken to always know exactly what is happening even if it does not concern you:
Dave’s found out. He never misses a trick, does he?.
14 . how’s tricks? old-fashioned spoken used to greet someone in a friendly way:
Hello, Bill! How’s tricks?
15 . SEX American English old-fashioned informal someone who pays a ↑ prostitute to have sex
turn a trick (=to have sex with someone for money)
⇨ ↑ confidence trick , ⇨ dirty trick at ↑ dirty 1 (6), ⇨ you can’t teach an old dog new tricks at ↑ teach (7), ⇨ ↑ hat trick
II. trick 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ trick , ↑ trickery , ↑ trickster ; adjective : ↑ tricky , ↑ trick ; verb : ↑ trick ]
1 . to deceive someone in order to get something from them or to make them do something:
She knew she’d been tricked, but it was too late.
trick somebody into doing something
He claimed he was tricked into carrying drugs.
trick somebody out of something
The corporation was tricked out of $20 million.
trick your way into/past/onto etc something
He tricked his way into her home by pretending to be a policeman.
2 . be tricked out with/in something British English literary to be decorated with something:
a hat tricked out with ribbons
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ deceive especially written to make someone who trusts you believe something that is not true:
This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public.
▪ trick to make someone believe something that is not true, in order to get something from them or make them do something:
A man posing as an insurance agent had tricked her out of thousands of dollars.
▪ fool to make someone believe something that is not true by using a clever but simple trick:
His hairpiece doesn’t fool anyone.
▪ mislead to make people believe something that is not true, by deliberately not giving them all the facts, or by saying something that is only partly true:
The company was accused of misleading customers about the nutritional value of the product.
▪ dupe informal to trick or deceive someone, especially so that they become involved in someone else’s dishonest activity without realizing it:
The spies duped government and military officials alike.
▪ con informal to trick someone, especially by telling them something that is not true:
I’m pretty good at judging people; I didn’t think he was trying to con me.
III. trick 3 BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ trick , ↑ trickery , ↑ trickster ; adjective : ↑ tricky , ↑ trick ; verb : ↑ trick ]
1 . trick photography when a photograph or picture has been changed so that it looks different from what was really there
2 . a trick question a question which seems easy to answer but has a hidden difficulty
3 . a trick knee/ankle/shoulder etc American English a joint that is weak and can suddenly cause you problems