trick

/trɪk/

/trɪk/

Other forms: tricks; tricked; tricking

A trick is a hoax or sneaky scheme. If you fool people into thinking they're donating to a good cause when you're really keeping their money, you're playing a trick on them. It's not nice to trick people.

"A mean ruse" is the oldest meaning of trick, which is rooted in the Latin tricari, "be evasive." Today it's also used for less mean-spirited deceptions, including funny practical jokes and a magician's sleight-of-hand illusions, commonly called magic tricks. To trick someone is to fool them, and if you hold a trick in your hand, you're playing bridge, hearts, or another "trick-taking" card game.

Definitions of trick

1. noun

   a cunning or deceitful action or device
   “he played a trick on me”

   synonyms: fast one

   types:

   schtick, schtik, shtick, shtik

   (Yiddish) a devious trick; a bit of cheating

   type of:

   device, gimmick, twist

   any clever maneuver
2. noun

   an illusory feat; considered magical by naive observers
   synonyms: conjuration, conjuring trick, deception, illusion, legerdemain, magic, magic trick, thaumaturgy

   types:

   card trick

   a trick performed with playing cards

   prestidigitation, sleight of hand

   manual dexterity in the execution of tricks

   type of:

   performance

   the act of presenting a play or a piece of music or other entertainment
3. noun

   an attempt to get you to do something foolish or imprudent
   “that offer was a dirty trick”

   type of:

   dishonesty, knavery

   lack of honesty; acts of lying or cheating or stealing
4. noun

   a ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement
   synonyms: antic, caper, joke, prank, put-on

   types:

   dirty trick

   an unkind or aggressive trick

   practical joke

   a prank or trick played on a person (especially one intended to make the victim appear foolish)

   April fool

   a practical joke or trick played on the first day of April

   hotfoot

   a practical joke that involves inserting a match surreptitiously between the sole and upper of the victim's shoe and then lighting it

   rag

   a boisterous practical joke (especially by college students)

   snipe hunt

   an elaborate practical joke in which the unsuspecting victim hunts a snipe and is typically left in the dark holding a bag and waiting for the snipe to run into it

   type of:

   diversion, recreation

   an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates
5. verb

   deceive somebody
   “We tricked the teacher into thinking that class would be cancelled next week”

   synonyms: flim-flam, fob, fox, play a joke on, play a trick on, play tricks, pull a fast one on

   types:

   snooker

   fool or dupe

   type of:

   cozen, deceive, delude, lead on

   be false to; be dishonest with
6. noun

   (card games) in a single round, the sequence of cards played by all the players; the high card is the winner
   type of:

   play, turn

   (game) the activity of doing something in an agreed succession
7. noun

   a prostitute's customer
   type of:

   client, customer

   someone who pays for goods or services
8. noun

   a period of work or duty
   type of:

   duty period, shift, work shift

   the time period during which you are at work