Origin of trump
1
First recorded in 1520–30; unexplained variant of
triumph
OTHER WORDS FROM trump
trump·less, adjectiveWords nearby trump
British Dictionary definitions for trump up (1 of 3)
trump up
verb
(tr, adverb)
to concoct or invent (a charge, accusation, etc) so as to deceive or implicate someone
British Dictionary definitions for trump up (2 of 3)
trump
1
/ (trʌmp) /
noun
Also called: trump card
- any card from the suit chosen as trumps
- this suit itself; trumps
Also called: trump card
a decisive or advantageous move, resource, action, etc
informal
a fine or reliable person
verb
to play a trump card on (a suit, or a particular card of a suit, that is not trumps)
(tr)
to outdo or surpass
Derived forms of trump
trumpless, adjectiveWord Origin for trump
C16: variant of
triumph
British Dictionary definitions for trump up (3 of 3)
trump
2
/ (trʌmp) archaic, or literary /
noun
a trumpet or the sound produced by one
the last trump
the final trumpet call that according to the belief of some will awaken and raise the dead on the Day of Judgment
verb
(intr)
to produce a sound upon or as if upon the trumpet
(tr)
to proclaim or announce with or as if with a fanfare
(intr) British slang
to expel intestinal gas through the anus
Word Origin for trump
C13: from Old French
trompe, from Old High German
trumpa trumpet; compare
trombone
Idioms and Phrases with trump up (1 of 2)
trump up
Concoct fraudulently, fabricate, as in They trumped up a charge of conspiracy, or She had trumped up another excuse for not doing the work. This expression, first recorded in 1695, uses trump in the sense of “devise fraudulently,” a usage otherwise obsolete.
Idioms and Phrases with trump up (2 of 2)
trump