# trophy

Pronunciation: say "TROH-fee" US /ˈtɹoʊfi/, UK /ˈtɹəʊfi/

## Noun

1. An object, often a statuette, cup, or shield, awarded for success in a competition or to mark a special achievement.
   - Simple: A cup, statue, or shield given to someone who wins a contest or does something special.
   - _The championship trophy gleamed under the stadium lights as the captain raised it._
   - _A row of trophies lined the school's display case._
2. An emblem of success; something owned or displayed mainly as a sign of status.
   - Simple: Something you own or show off to prove that you are successful.
   - _The penthouse was less a home than a trophy, proof of how far he had climbed._
   - _For some collectors, rare watches are trophies more than timepieces._
3. An object taken as a prize by a hunter, conqueror, or combatant, especially one put on display.
   - Simple: An object a hunter or victor takes as a prize and puts on show.
   - _The general kept the captured sword as a trophy in his study._
   - _Mounted heads and other trophies covered the lodge walls._
4. A wild animal killed by a trophy hunter, typically with its parts sold on the black market.
   - Simple: A wild animal killed for sport, with its body parts often sold illegally.
   - _The poached lion was nothing more than a trophy to the dealers who bought its hide._
   - _Each trophy taken from the reserve feeds the black-market trade in animal parts._
5. Something a serial killer or rapist keeps from a crime as a reminder of it.
   - Simple: An object a violent criminal keeps to remember a crime they committed.
   - _Investigators realized the missing rings were trophies the murderer had collected._
   - _Each trophy linked him to another unsolved case._
6. A display of weaponry and other military gear, often captured from a defeated enemy, arranged as an ornament to celebrate a victory or show off a ruler's might.
   - Simple: A display of weapons, often captured from an enemy, set up to celebrate a victory.
   - _Above the archway, a sculpted trophy of spears and banners proclaimed the king's conquests._
   - _Baroque facades often featured trophies of arms framing the central doorway._
7. A work of art or other artifact that has been stolen and is then bought and sold on the black market.
   - Simple: A valuable artwork or object that a thief steals and sells illegally.
   - _The looted vase was treated as a trophy in private collections for decades._
   - _Interpol tracks stolen trophies as they move through underground dealers._
10. A monument formed from the arms and spoils of a defeated enemy, raised by the ancient Greeks and Romans at the site of a victory.
   - Simple: An ancient monument made from a beaten enemy's weapons, set up where the battle was won.
   - _The Greeks raised a trophy on the field where the Persians broke and ran._
   - _Each trophy marked the exact spot where the enemy was routed._

## Verb

8. To win a trophy as the result of success in a competition.
   - Simple: To win a trophy by coming first in a contest.
   - _After three straight finals defeats, the side finally trophied this spring._
   - _Few expected the underdogs to trophy in their debut season._
9. To adorn or decorate a person with trophies.
   - Simple: To decorate someone by putting trophies on or around them.

## Origin

It comes from Middle French trophée, from Latin trophaeum meaning a sign of victory or monument, which came from Ancient Greek trópaion, a monument of an enemy's defeat, ultimately from tropḗ, meaning a rout or the turning back of an enemy.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/trophy (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).