Trick

English Meaning

An artifice or stratagem; a cunning contrivance; a sly procedure, usually with a dishonest intent; as, a trick in trade.

1. An act or procedure intended to achieve an end by deceptive or fraudulent means. See Synonyms at wile.
2. A mischievous action; a prank.
3. A stupid, disgraceful, or childish act or performance.
4. A peculiar trait or characteristic; a mannerism: "Mimicry is the trick by which a moth or other defenseless insect comes to look like a wasp” ( Marston Bates).
5. A peculiar event with unexpected, often deceptive results: "One of history's cruelest tricks is to take words that sounded good at the time and make them sound pretty stupid” ( David Owen).
6. A deceptive or illusive appearance; an illusion: a trick of sunlight.
7. A special skill; a knack: Is there a trick to getting this window to stay up?
8. A convention or specialized skill peculiar to a particular field of activity: learned the tricks of the winemaking trade.
9. A feat of magic or legerdemain.
10. A difficult, dexterous, or clever act designed to amuse.
11. Games All the cards played in a single round, one from each player.
12. Games One such round.
13. A period or turn of duty, as at the helm of a ship.
14. Slang A prison term.
15. Slang An act of prostitution.
16. Slang A prostitute's customer.
17. Slang A session carried out by a prostitute with a client.
18. Slang A robbery or theft.
19. To cheat or deceive or to practice trickery or deception.
20. Of, relating to, or involving tricks.
21. Capable of performing tricks: a trick dog.
22. Designed or made for doing a trick or tricks: trick cards; trick dice.
23. Weak, defective, or liable to fail: a trick knee.
24. out Informal To ornament or adorn, often garishly: was all tricked out in beads and fringe.
25. do To bring about the desired result.
26. how's tricks Informal Used to make a friendly inquiry about a person or that person's affairs.
27. not miss a trick To be extremely alert: The teacher was known for not missing a trick.