A ActivateWords

Dictionary / trust

trust

/tɹʌst/ [t͡ʃʰɹ̥ʌst] /tɹɐst/ (Australia)
  • noun
  • verb
  • adjective
  • from Middle English

Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.

▶ Play the mastery game

1 All current definitions

Every sense of “trust” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.

noun

  1. countableuncountableConfidence in or reliance on some person or quality.

    He needs to regain her trust if he is ever going to win her back.

  2. countableuncountableDependence upon something in the future; hope.

    Such trust have we through Christ.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Corinthians 3:4:

  3. countableuncountableConfidence in the future payment for goods or services supplied; credit.

    I was out of cash, but the landlady let me have it on trust.

  4. countableuncountableThat which is committed or entrusted; something received in confidence; a charge.
  5. countableuncountableThat upon which confidence is reposed; ground of reliance; hope.

    O Lord God, thou art my trust from my youth.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 71:5:

  6. countablerareuncountableTrustworthiness, reliability.
  7. countableuncountableThe condition or obligation of one to whom anything is confided; responsible charge or office.

    I do profess to be no less than I seem; to serve him truly that will put me in trustc. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act

  8. countableuncountableThe 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.

  9. countableuncountableAn 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.
  10. countableuncountableA 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.
  11. countableuncountableAffirmation of the access rights of a user of a computer system.
Wiktionary: “trust” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

verb

  1. transitiveTo place confidence in, to rely on, to confide in.

    We cannot trust anyone who deceives us.

  2. intransitiveTo have faith in; to rely on for continuing support or aid.

    In God We Trust

  3. transitiveTo give credence to; to believe; to credit.

    Trust me, you looke well.c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[w

  4. transitiveTo hope confidently; to believe (usually with a phrase or infinitive clause as the object)

    I trust you have cleaned your room?

  5. transitiveto show confidence in a person by entrusting them with something.

    Whom, with your power and fortune, sir, you trust, Now to suspect is vain.1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1676, →OCLC, (please specify the page number):

  6. transitiveTo commit, as to one's care; to entrust.

    Merchants were not willing to trust precious cargoes to any custody but that of a man-of-war.1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

  7. transitiveTo give credit to; to sell to upon credit, or in confidence of future payment.

    Merchants and manufacturers trust their customers annually with goods.

  8. intransitivewith toTo rely on (something), as though having trust (on it).

    to trust to luck

  9. intransitiveTo have trust; to be credulous; to be won to confidence; to confide.

    I will trust and not be afraid.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 12:2:

Older & obsolete senses (2)
  1. archaictransitiveTo risk; to venture confidently.
  2. archaicintransitiveTo sell or deliver anything in reliance upon a promise of payment; to give credit.
Wiktionary: “trust” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

adjective

  1. of or relating to a trust.
Older & obsolete senses (2)
  1. obsoleteSecure, safe.
  2. obsoleteFaithful, dependable.
Wiktionary: “trust” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
Cross-check: WordNet senses (12)
  1. nounsomething (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)
  2. nouncertainty based on past experience — also: reliance
  3. nounthe trait of believing in the honesty and reliability of others — also: trustingness, trustfulness
  4. nouna consortium of independent organizations formed to limit competition by controlling the production and distribution of a product or service — also: corporate trust, combine, cartel
  5. nouncomplete confidence in a person or plan etc — also: faith
  6. nouna trustful relationship — also: confidence
  7. verbhave confidence or faith in — also: swear, rely, bank
  8. verballow without fear
  9. verbbe confident about something — also: believe
  10. verbexpect and wish — also: hope, desire
  11. verbconfer a trust upon — also: entrust, intrust, confide, commit
  12. verbextend credit to
Princeton WordNet 3.0 — WordNet License

Synonyms: belief, confidence, faith, expectation, hope

Antonyms: distrust, mistrust, untrust, wantrust

Wiktionary: “trust” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

2 History of the word

The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.

The word’s journey, newest to oldest:

  1. English (today)trust
  2. Middle Englishtrust

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”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deru- (“be firm, hard, solid”).

Cognates

Cognate with Saterland Frisian Traast (“comfort, solace”), West Frisian treast (“comfort, consolation, solace”), Dutch troost (“comfort, consolation”), German Trost (“comfort, consolation”), Low German Troost (“comfort, consolation”), Luxembourgish Trouscht (“consolation”), Danish trøst (“comfort, solace”), Icelandic traust (“faith, trust; confidence”), Norwegian Nynorsk trøst, trøyst (“consolation”), Swedish tröst (“comfort, consolation”), Gothic 𐍄𐍂𐌰𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌹 (trausti, “covenant, pact”). Doublet of tryst. More at true, tree.

Wiktionary: “trust” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Derivatives — words built from “trust”

antitrustentrustintrustmistrustovertrusttrustbustertrustbustingtrust-fallingtrustfultrust-fundertrustificationtrustifytrustlesstrustlettrustliketrustmantrustmarktrustmongertruststoretrustworthytrustyunitrustuntrustwantrustbetrustforetrusttrustabilitytrustabletrusteetrustertrustingtrustor

Phrases & compounds

bare trustbeef trustblind trustbrains trustbrain trustbreach of trustcestui que trustcestuy que trustcharitable trustconstructive trustDelaware statutory trustHenson trusthonorary trustliving trustreal estate investment trustmulti-academy trustpartial trustposition of trustpublic trustQuistclose trustremainder trust
Wiktionary: “trust” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Want to go deeper? See also “trust” on Etymonline ↗

3 Original language

Where “trust” came from before it was English.

Native English word, from
Middle English
Middle English trust
Wiktionary: “trust” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

4 Original meaning

What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.

Wiktionary’s etymology does not give a separate meaning for the earliest form of “trust”, so we don’t state one. The historical dictionary entry below shows how the word was understood in 1913.

Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913

A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.

trust n. [OE. trust, trost, Icel. traust confidence, security; akin to Dan. & Sw. tr comfort, consolation, G. trost, Goth. trausti a convention, covenant, and E. true. See True, and cf. Tryst.]

  1. Assured resting of the mind on the integrity, veracity, justice, friendship, or other sound principle, of another person; confidence; reliance; reliance.
  2. Credit given; especially, delivery of property or merchandise in reliance upon future payment; exchange without immediate receipt of an equivalent; as, to sell or buy goods on trust.
  3. Assured anticipation; dependence upon something future or contingent, as if present or actual; hope; belief.
  4. That which is committed or intrusted to one; something received in confidence; charge; deposit.

trust a.

  1. Held in trust; as, trust property; trustmoney.

trust v. t. [OE. trusten, trosten. See Trust, n.]

  1. To place confidence in; to rely on, to confide, or repose faith, in; as, we can not trust those who have deceived us.
  2. To give credence to; to believe; to credit.
  3. To hope confidently; to believe; -- usually with a phrase or infinitive clause as the object.
  4. to show confidence in a person by intrusting (him) with something.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), public domain, via GCIDE

5 Use it with confidence

Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.

nounMeaning: Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.

He needs to regain her trust if he is ever going to win her back.

to lose trust in someone

nounMeaning: Dependence upon something in the future; hope.

Such trust have we through Christ.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Corinthians 3:4:

nounMeaning: 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.

nounMeaning: That upon which confidence is reposed; ground of reliance; hope.

O Lord God, thou art my trust from my youth.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 71:5:

nounMeaning: The condition or obligation of one to whom anything is confided; responsible charge or office.

I do profess to be no less than I seem; to serve him truly that will put me in trustc. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act

17th century, John Denham, Of Justice Reward them well, if they observe their trust.

nounMeaning: 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.

nounMeaning: something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary)

he is the beneficiary of a generous trust set up by his father

nounMeaning: certainty based on past experience

he put more trust in his own two legs than in the gun

nounMeaning: the trait of believing in the honesty and reliability of others

the experience destroyed his trust and personal dignity

nounMeaning: a consortium of independent organizations formed to limit competition by controlling the production and distribution of a product or service

they set up the trust in the hope of gaining a monopoly

Princeton WordNet 3.0 — WordNet License
Wiktionary: “trust” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Three steps to owning it

  1. Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
  2. Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
  3. Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?

6 The mastery game

Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.

Step 1 of 9

Say it, then spell it

trust

/tɹʌst/

Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.

Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________

trust

/tɹʌst/ · noun, verb, adjective

Step 1 — Say it and write it

Say “trust” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.

Step 2 — Know every meaning

Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.

1. (noun) Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.
2. (noun) Dependence upon something in the future; hope.
3. (noun) Confidence in the future payment for goods or services supplied; credit.
4. (noun) That which is committed or entrusted; something received in confidence; a charge.
5. (noun) That upon which confidence is reposed; ground of reliance; hope.

Step 3 — Which meaning is it?

“He needs to regain her trust if he is ever going to win her back.”

A. That upon which confidence is reposed; ground of reliance; hope.
B. Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.
C. Trustworthiness, reliability.

Circle the meaning used.

“I was out of cash, but the landlady let me have it on trust.”

A. Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.
B. That upon which confidence is reposed; ground of reliance; hope.
C. Confidence in the future payment for goods or services supplied; credit.

Circle the meaning used.

“I put the house into my sister's trust.”

A. Confidence in the future payment for goods or services supplied; credit.
B. Dependence upon something in the future; hope.
C. The confidence vested in a person who has legal ownership of a property to manage for the benefit of another.

Circle the meaning used.

Step 4 — History and origin

Which language did “trust” come into English from?   A. Ancient Greek  B. French  C. Middle French  D. Middle English

Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):

Write three words built from “trust” and what each means:

Step 5 — Original meaning

Read the etymology on the page. What does it tell you about the word’s earlier meaning?

How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?

Step 6 — Use it yourself

Write a sentence using “trust” to mean: Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.
Write a sentence using “trust” to mean: Dependence upon something in the future; hope.
Write a sentence using “trust” to mean: Confidence in the future payment for goods or services supplied; credit.

☐ I can explain its meanings   ☐ I know its history   ☐ I know its original language   ☐ I know its original meaning   ☐ I can use it confidently

Answer key — trust

Which meaning, sentence 1: B. Confidence in or reliance on some person or quality.

Which meaning, sentence 2: C. Confidence in the future payment for goods or services supplied; credit.

Which meaning, sentence 3: C. The confidence vested in a person who has legal ownership of a property to manage for the benefit of another.

Origin: D. Middle English (Middle English trust)

Journey: English trust ← Middle English trust

Some derivatives: antitrust, entrust, intrust, mistrust, overtrust, trustbuster, trustbusting, trust-falling

Etymology: 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”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deru- (“be firm, hard, solid”).

Sources: Wiktionary “trust” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trust#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/trust