trick

(trĭk)

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. 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.

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.

Related Forms:

• trickˈer noun