1. A cunning or deceitful action or device
   "he played a trick on me";
   - fast one [informal]
    
2. An attempt to get you to do something foolish or imprudent
   "that offer was a dirty trick"
    
3. An illusory feat; considered magical by naive observers
   "She performed an impressive magic trick with just a deck of cards";
   - magic trick, conjuring trick, magic, legerdemain, conjuration [rare], thaumaturgy, illusion, deception
    
4. A ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement
   "The clown's tricks had the children laughing uncontrollably";
   - antic, joke, prank, caper [informal], put-on [N. Amer, informal], dido [N. Amer, informal]
    
5. (card games) in a single round, the sequence of cards played by all the players; the high card is the winner
   "She won the trick with the ace of spades"
    
6. A period of work or duty
   "The night watchman worked the graveyard trick"
    
7. A prostitute's customer
   "The undercover officer posed as a trick to gather evidence against the illegal brothel";
   - john [informal]

1. Deceive somebody
   "We tricked the teacher into thinking that class would be cancelled next week"; "The magician played tricks on the audience"; "The salesman played a trick on the unsuspecting customer with false promises";
   - flimflam [informal], play a joke on, play tricks, fob [archaic], fox, pull a fast one on [informal], play a trick on, hose [N. Amer, informal], pull a fast one [informal], take for a ride [informal], sucker [N. Amer, informal]
    
2. Use a trick to induce (someone) into doing something unpleasant
   "The salesman tricked the customer into signing up for an expensive service plan";
   - mousetrap [N. Amer]

Derived forms: tricked, tricking, tricks

Type of: client, cozen [literary], customer, deceive, delude, device, dishonesty, diversion, duty period, gimmick, knavery [archaic], lead on, performance, play, recreation, roguishness, shift, turn, work shift

Encyclopedia: Trick, David