# true

Pronunciation: say "TROO" /tɹuː/

## Adjective

1. Agreeing with fact or reality; correct, or based on events that really happened.
   - Simple: Matching the facts. Real and correct, or about things that really happened.
   - _The film is based on the true story of a family who survived three weeks lost at sea._
   - _It is true that water boils at a lower temperature high in the mountains._
2. Real and genuine; belonging to a group in the strict sense, including the strict scientific sense of a common name.
   - Simple: Real, or being properly what the name says, as in 'a true friend' or 'true bugs'.
   - _Critics say the country is not a true democracy, since its elections are rigged._
   - _A true ruby is a form of corundum, unlike the cheaper red stones sold under that name._
3. Steadfastly loyal and faithful.
   - Simple: Loyal and faithful to someone or something.
   - _She remained true to her friends through every setback._
   - _He stayed true to his principles despite enormous pressure._
4. Used to begin a sentence, as a shortened form of "it is true that," to concede a point before qualifying it.
   - Simple: Used to begin a sentence by admitting something is correct before adding more.
   - _True, we lost the first game, but the season is far from over._
   - _True, the book is long, though every chapter earns its place._
5. Precisely in accord with a rule or pattern; accurate.
   - Simple: Exact and following the correct pattern or rule.
   - _The portrait is a true likeness of her grandmother at twenty._
   - _Scholars praised the translation as true to the original, right down to its odd punctuation._
6. In Boolean logic, denoting the state that indicates an affirmative or positive result.
   - Simple: In computer or math logic, the value that means 'yes, this is so', the opposite of false.
   - _The expression evaluates to true whenever the number is positive._
   - _Boolean variables can hold only true or false._
7. Used of a direction, bearing, or course that is reckoned from the earth's geographic North and South Poles, as opposed to the magnetic poles shown by a compass.
   - Simple: Of a direction, measured from the actual North and South Poles, not from the poles a compass points to.
   - _Hikers have to adjust their compass readings because magnetic north and true north are not the same._
   - _The survey records every boundary line as a true bearing, not a magnetic one._
8. Correctly aligned or calibrated, showing no deviation from its intended position.
   - Simple: Lined up correctly, with nothing out of place.
   - _The mechanic adjusted the spokes until the wheel was true._
   - _Once calibrated, the instrument stayed true for months._
9. Accurate in flight, following a straight path toward the intended target.
   - Simple: Moving straight and accurately toward the target you aimed at.
   - _The golfer's drive was true, carrying straight down the fairway._
   - _A true throw sent the ball right into the catcher's mitt._
13. Fair and unbiased; not weighted or loaded toward any outcome.
   - Simple: Fair and not changed to favor one result.
   - _The casino tests every new pair of dice to make sure they are true, with no side weighted more than the others._
   - _A true roulette wheel shows no preference for any pocket._

## Verb

10. To make something straight, level, or correctly aligned.
   - Simple: To fix something so it is straight, level, or lined up correctly.
   - _The mechanic trued the warped wheel until it spun without wobbling._
   - _You must true the edges of the planks before gluing them together._

## Adverb

11. In an accurate line or correct alignment: straight toward the mark, or turning without any wobble.
   - Simple: In a straight, accurate way, toward a target, or turning smoothly without wobbling.
   - _The javelin sailed true, landing exactly where she had aimed._
   - _The wind dropped for a moment, and her arrow flew true to the center of the target._

## Noun

12. The condition of being correctly aligned or perfectly straight.
   - Simple: The condition of being straight and lined up correctly.
   - _After the impact, the rim sat several millimeters out of true._
   - _The carpenter checked that the door frame was still in true._

## Adverb

14. In a truthful manner; honestly. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: In an honest and truthful way.
   - _Tell me true: did you see the rider pass this way?_
   - _She vowed to speak true, however hard the words might be._

## Noun

15. Truth; that which is real or in accordance with fact. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Truth, or what is real and honest.
16. A pledge of faith, or an agreement to halt fighting; a truce. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A promise of loyalty, or an agreement to stop fighting for a time.

## Origin

Proto-Indo-European *drewh₂- ("steady, firm"), an extension of *dóru ("tree"), lies behind Proto-Germanic *triwwiz (compare German treu, Dutch trouw). That gave Old English trīewe, meaning "trusty, faithful," with the Mercian form trēowe, and it became Middle English trewe. Latin shows a similar shift in meaning, with robustus ("tough") coming from robur ("red oak").

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