trope (tr?p)n.1. A figure of speech using words in nonliteral ways, such as a metaphor.2. A word or phrase interpolated as an embellishment in the sung parts of certain medieval liturgies.[Latin tropus, from Greek tropos, turn, figure of speech; see trep- in Indo-European roots.]trop?i·cal (tr??p?-k?l) adj.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.trope (tr??p) n1. (Rhetoric) rhetoric a word or expression used in a figurative sense2. (Music, other) an interpolation of words or music into the plainsong settings of the Roman Catholic liturgy[C16: from Latin tropus figurative use of a word, from Greek tropos style, turn; related to trepein to turn]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014trope (tro?p) n. 1. a. any literary or rhetorical device, as metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony, that consists in the use of words in other than their literal sense. b. an instance of this. 2. a phrase, sentence, or verse formerly interpolated in a liturgical text to amplify or embellish. [1525?35;