I. ˈtrəst noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English trust, trost, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse traust trust; akin to Old High German trōst trust, Gothic trausti agreement, pact, Old Norse trūa trust, faith, Old English trūwian to trust, inspire with trust, trēowe faithful, trustworthy — more at true
1.
a. : assured reliance on some person or thing : a confident dependence on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something : belief
nor should a physician do anything to diminish the trust reposed by the patient in his own physician — W.T. & Barbara Fitts
the trust that farmer places in the fertilizer operator — Monsanto Magazine
being ignorant of these matters, I take it all on trust — H.J.Laski
b. : a person or thing in which confidence is placed : a basis of reliance, faith, or hope
God, thou art my trust from my youth — Ps 71:5 (Authorized Version)
if I have made gold my trust — Job 31:24 (Revised Standard Version)
2.
a. : dependence on something future or contingent : confident anticipation : hope
hurried down to those who were waiting in joyful trust — George Meredith
b. : reliance on future payment for merchandise or other property delivered : credit
sell on trust
3.
a. : an equitable right or interest in property distinct from the legal ownership of it : a property interest held by one person for the benefit of another — see living trust , massachusetts trust , passive trust , spendthrift trust , testamentary trust
b.
(1) : a combination of firms or corporations formed by an agreement legally establishing a trust whereby stockholders in the separate corporations exchange their shares for shares representing proportionate interest in the principal and income of the combination and surrender to the trustees the management and operation of the combined firms or corporations
(2) : a combination or aggregation of business entities formed by any of various means ; especially : one that reduces competition or is thought to present a threat of reducing competition
4. archaic : trustworthiness
there's no trust , no faith, no honesty in men — Shakespeare
5.
a.
(1) : a charge or duty imposed in faith or confidence or as a condition of some relationship
accept, as a sacred trust , the obligation to promote to the largest possible extent the welfare of such peoples — B.A.G.Cohen
(2) : something committed or entrusted to one to be used or cared for in the interest of another
no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States — U.S. Constitution
b. : the condition, obligation, or right of one to whom something is confided : responsible charge or office
feel that my trust as chairman of the board of this bank requires me to exert every effort — W.W.Aldrich
sometimes people fail in their trust , but they live up to it far more often — Boy Scout Handbk.
c. : care , custody
a child committed to his trust
Synonyms:
confidence , reliance , dependence , faith : trust implies an assured attitude toward another which may rest on blended evidence of experience and more subjective grounds such as knowledge, affection, admiration, respect, or reverence
to Miss Biddums he confided with equal trust his tattered garments and his more serious griefs — Rudyard Kipling
his youthful optimism and his cheerful trust in men — Katherine McNamara
confidence may indicate a feeling of sureness about another that is based on experience and evidence without strong effect of the subjective
both of whom had profound confidence in him — T.M.Spaulding
he apparently has won the confidence of farm workers, merchants and others, who continue to elect him — Harold Callender
reliance may be used readily in contexts in which assuredness in another has formed the basis for some choice or decision
his diffidence had prevented his depending on his own judgment in so anxious a case, but his reliance on mine made everything easy — Jane Austen
had written out his Christmas sermon with a good deal of care and an excessive reliance on what other preachers had said before him — Compton Mackenzie
dependence is likely to suggest lack of independence and inability to act for one's self while relying on another
the drastic effect on a girl's life of the mother's dependence on her — Leslie Rees
a woman who did not regard the change from economic independence on an employer to economic dependence on a man, as an honorable promotion — Virginia Woolf
faith may indicate a confidence that transcends, waives, or violates factual evidence
although I already had great faith in the mental capacity of the Polynesians, even I was astounded at the facility with which the students forged ahead — V.G.Heiser
a lasting faith that not everything in the dreams I dreamed as an undergraduate can possibly have been false — T.R.Ybarra
•
- in trust
II. adjective
: held in trust
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English trusten, trosten, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse treysta to trust, traust trust
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to place confidence : depend — used with in or to
hope for the best, and trust in God — Sydney Smith
flung together a jumble of material, and trusted to its timeliness to sell — V.L.Parrington
trust to luck
b. : to be confident : hope
need not succumb to panic, however, if we will trust and not be afraid — J.W.McKelvey
will see you soon, I trust
2. : to sell or deliver on credit
transitive verb
1.
a. : to commit or place with confidence : confer as a trust : entrust
trust my precious flowers to a mere man — Margaret Deland
such trees must be cared for … almost no owner would, or does, trust them to a tenant — B.H.Hibbard
b. : to permit to stay or go somewhere or to do something without fear or misgiving : venture confidently
sealed my letter, and not trusting it out of my own hands, delivered it myself — Charles Dickens
c. : to confer a trust on : give something into the care or possession of
trusted his son with the family car
trusted him with her story
2.
a. : to rely on the truthfulness or accuracy of : believe , credit
if we may trust him as a witness
if rumor may be trusted
b. : to place confidence in : have faith in : rely on
trust the storekeeper from whom you buy your baseball mitt to sell you a good one — Boy Scout Handbk.
was widely trusted and loved by the community as a whole — K.S.Latourette
trust him to know when to keep quiet
c. : to hope or expect confidently
trusted the sight of that barren mountainside would compensate us for all the discomforts — W.H.Hudson †1922
trusted to find oil on the land
3. : to extend credit to
do you suppose he'd mind trusting me for the other dollar-ninety — MacKinlay Kantor
Synonyms: see rely