TRUMP
verb
1. /trʌmp/
2. C1
3. To outperform, surpass, or have greater importance than something else; to beat or outdo someone/something decisively.
4. = outdo, outrank, supersede, surpass, prevail over
5. Idea: To trump is to pull out that ace from your sleeve when everyone thinks you've already lost the game.
6. Usage hints and common mistakes:
a) Originally from card games, where a trump card beats all others. The noun form refers to the winning card in a game ("I played a trump"). But "trump" as a verb is about beating, not just cards.
b) Commonly used with abstract concepts rather than physical actions. We wouldn't typically say "The runner trumped his opponent" - we'd use words like "beat," "outran," or "outperformed" instead. But we can say "Safety concerns trumped cost considerations in designing the new bridge."
c) Preposition note: "trump over" is incorrect - just use "trump"
(❌ Incorrect: "Safety trumps over profit in our company."
✅ Correct: "Safety trumps profit in our company.")
d) "Trumped by" can be used to show how the trumping was done: "The movie plans were trumped by bad weather."
e) Common collocations: trump concerns, trump considerations, trump everything
f) Close to "triumph". Trump is about superiority/precedence, triumph is about victory/success.
g) Can sound aggressive if used about people - better for comparing ideas/concepts.
h) You can say "my offer trumps his" (meaning it is better).
7. Examples:
Common sense can trump theoretical knowledge.
Chinese DeepSeek trumps ChatGPT.
verb
1. /trʌmp/
2. C1
3. To outperform, surpass, or have greater importance than something else; to beat or outdo someone/something decisively.
4. = outdo, outrank, supersede, surpass, prevail over
5. Idea: To trump is to pull out that ace from your sleeve when everyone thinks you've already lost the game.
6. Usage hints and common mistakes:
a) Originally from card games, where a trump card beats all others. The noun form refers to the winning card in a game ("I played a trump"). But "trump" as a verb is about beating, not just cards.
b) Commonly used with abstract concepts rather than physical actions. We wouldn't typically say "The runner trumped his opponent" - we'd use words like "beat," "outran," or "outperformed" instead. But we can say "Safety concerns trumped cost considerations in designing the new bridge."
c) Preposition note: "trump over" is incorrect - just use "trump"
(❌ Incorrect: "Safety trumps over profit in our company."
✅ Correct: "Safety trumps profit in our company.")
d) "Trumped by" can be used to show how the trumping was done: "The movie plans were trumped by bad weather."
e) Common collocations: trump concerns, trump considerations, trump everything
f) Close to "triumph". Trump is about superiority/precedence, triumph is about victory/success.
g) Can sound aggressive if used about people - better for comparing ideas/concepts.
h) You can say "my offer trumps his" (meaning it is better).
7. Examples:
Common sense can trump theoretical knowledge.
Chinese DeepSeek trumps ChatGPT.