trust Meaning & Definition
What Does Trust Mean?
Trust is used as a noun meaning Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality. It can also mean Dependence upon something in the future; hope. As a verb, it means To place confidence in, to rely on, to confide in. As an interjection, it means Ellipsis of trust me, often used sarcastically or self-mockingly.
Word Facts for Trust
| Part of speech | noun, verb, interjection, adjective |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | //tɹʌst// |
| Syllables | 1 |
| Synonyms | desire, confidence and believe |
| Antonyms | distrust, mistrust and distrustfulness |
| Plural | trusts |
| Comparative / superlative | more trust, most trust |
| Verb forms | trusts, trusting, trusted |
Trust Definition (Noun)
- Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.
He needs to regain her trust if he is ever going to win her back.
- Dependence upon something in the future; hope.
- Confidence in the future payment for goods or services supplied; credit.
I was out of cash, but the landlady let me have it on trust.
- That which is committed or entrusted; something received in confidence; a charge.
- That upon which confidence is reposed; ground of reliance; hope.
- Trustworthiness, reliability.
- The condition or obligation of one to whom anything is confided; responsible charge or office.
- The confidence vested in a person who has legal ownership of a property to manage for the benefit of another.
I put the house into my sister's trust.
- An arrangement whereby property or money is given to be held by a third party (a trustee), on the basis that it will be managed for the benefit of, or eventually transferred to, a stated beneficiary; for example, money to be given to a child when he or she reaches adulthood.
- A group of businessmen or traders organised for mutual benefit to produce and distribute specific commodities or services, and managed by a central body of trustees.
- Affirmation of the access rights of a user of a computer system.
Trust as a Verb
- To place confidence in, to rely on, to confide in.
We cannot trust anyone who deceives us.
- To have faith in; to rely on for continuing support or aid.
In God We Trust
- To give credence to; to believe; to credit.
- To hope confidently; to believe (usually with a phrase or infinitive clause as the object)
I trust you have cleaned your room?
- to show confidence in a person by entrusting them with something.
- To commit, as to one's care; to entrust.
- To give credit to; to sell to upon credit, or in confidence of future payment.
Merchants and manufacturers trust their customers annually with goods.
- To rely on (something), as though having trust (on it).
to trust to luck
- To risk; to venture confidently.
- To have trust; to be credulous; to be won to confidence; to confide.
- To sell or deliver anything in reliance upon a promise of payment; to give credit.
Trust as an Interjection
- Ellipsis of trust me, often used sarcastically or self-mockingly.
You'll get your money back bro, trust.
Trust as an Adjective
- Secure, safe.
- Faithful, dependable.
- of or relating to a trust.
Noun
- An estate devised or granted in confidence that the devisee or grantee shall convey it, or dispose of the profits, at the will, or for the benefit, of another; an estate held for the use of another.
Verb
- To place confidence in; to rely on, to confide, or have faith, in.
We cannot trust anyone who deceives us.
- (followed by to) To rely on (something), as though having trust (on it).
Having lost the book, he had to trust to his memory for further details.
Synonyms of Trust
Antonyms of Trust
Trust in a Sentence
He needs to regain her trust if he is ever going to win her back.
to lose trust in someone
build up trust
a relationship built on mutual trust
I was out of cash, but the landlady let me have it on trust.
I put the house into my sister's trust.
We cannot trust anyone who deceives us.
In God We Trust
I trust you have cleaned your room?
Merchants and manufacturers trust their customers annually with goods.
to trust to luck
Having lost the book, he had to trust to his memory for further details.
You'll get your money back bro, trust.
Word Forms & Grammar
trust (countable and uncountable, plural trusts)
trust (third-person singular simple present trusts, present participle trusting, simple past and past participle trusted)
trust
trust (comparative more trust, superlative most trust)
Words That Rhyme With Trust
Origin of Trust
From Middle English trust, trost (“trust, protection”). Long considered a borrowing from Old Norse traust (“confidence, help, protection”), from Proto-Germanic *traustą, but the root vocalism is incompatible, so trust has come to be considered a reflex of an unattested Old English *trust, from a rare zero-grade Proto-Germanic variant of the same root also attested in Middle High German getrüste (“host”).[1] Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deru- (“be firm, hard, solid”).
Trust Pronunciation
The standard pronunciation of trust is //tɹʌst//, spoken in 1 syllable.
Common Questions About Trust
Is trust a noun or a verb?
Trust is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as a verb, an interjection and an adjective.
What is another word for trust?
Close synonyms of trust are desire, confidence and believe. See the full list of trust synonyms and antonyms.
What is the opposite of trust?
Antonyms of trust include distrust, mistrust, distrustfulness and suspect.
What is the plural of trust?
The plural of trust is trusts.
What is the past tense of trust?
The past tense of trust is trusted. The present participle is trusting.