trick
trick (trĭk) noun
1. An act or a procedure intended to achieve an end by deceptive or fraudulent means. See synonyms at artifice.
2. A mischievous action; a prank.
3. A stupid, disgraceful, or childish act or performance.
4. a. 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). b. 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). c. A deceptive or illusive appearance; an illusion: a trick of sunlight.
5. a. A special skill; a knack: Is there a trick to getting this window to stay up? b. A convention or specialized skill peculiar to a particular field of activity: learned the tricks of the winemaking trade.
6. A feat of magic or legerdemain.
7. A difficult, dexterous, or clever act designed to amuse.
8. Games. a. All the cards played in a single round, one from each player. b. One such round.
9. a. A period or turn of duty, as at the helm of a ship. b. Slang. A prison term.
10. Slang. a. An act of prostitution. b. A prostitute's customer. c. A session carried out by a prostitute with a client.
11. Slang. A robbery or theft.
verb, transitive & intransitive
tricked, tricking, tricks
To cheat or deceive or to practice trickery or deception.
adjective
1. Of, relating to, or involving tricks.
2. Capable of performing tricks: a trick dog.
3. Designed or made for doing a trick or tricks: trick cards; trick dice.
4. Weak, defective, or liable to fail: a trick knee.
phrasal verb.
trick out Informal or up)
To ornament or adorn, often garishly: was all tricked out in beads and fringe.
idiom.
do the trick or turn the trick
To bring about the desired result.
how's tricks Informal
Used to make a friendly inquiry about a person or that person's affairs.
not miss a trick
To be extremely alert: The teacher was known for not missing a trick.
[Middle English trik, from Old North French trique, from trikier, to deceive, probably from Vulgar Latin *triccāre, from Latin trīcārī, to play tricks, from trīcae, tricks.]
trickʹer noun