a period of work or duty
"After finishing his morning trick at the post office, he headed home to rest."
an illusory feat; considered magical by naive observers
"The street performer dazzled the children with a trick that made his hat disappear and reappear in seconds."
a prostitute's customer
"The old sailor knew every trick in the seedy district by their distinctive walk and smell of salt water."
(card games) in a single round, the sequence of cards played by all the players; the high card is the winner
"In the final trick of the game, I managed to win with my ace of spades."
Something designed to fool or swindle.
"The con artist used a clever trick to steal money from the unsuspecting tourists."
In plain English: A trick is something done to fool someone else, often by pretending it's real when it isn't.
"The magician made his assistant disappear with that simple trick."
Usage: Use the noun trick for a deceptive act, such as a magic illusion or a clever scheme used to outwit someone. Distinguish it from similar words like gimmick, which often refers specifically to an attractive but superficial feature designed to lure customers rather than deceive them directly.
deceive somebody
"We tricked the teacher into thinking that class would be cancelled next week"
To fool; to cause to believe something untrue; to deceive.
"The magician used a clever trick to make it look like he had vanished completely."
In plain English: To trick someone means to deceive them by making false promises or misleading information so they believe something that isn't true.
"The magician made his assistant disappear in an amazing trick."
Involving trickery or deception.
"The magician's performance was so convincing that no one realized it involved trickery and deception from start to finish."
"The trick question confused everyone at the party."
The word "trick" comes from Middle English trikke, which was borrowed from Old Northern French and likely influenced by Germanic roots meaning to deceive or cheat. Originally used to describe dishonest acts like fraud or concealment, the term entered modern usage with this core sense of trickery intact.