tro·phy (tr??f?)n. pl. tro·phies 1. a. A prize or memento, such as a cup or plaque, received as a symbol of victory, especially in sports.b. A specimen or part, such as a lion’s head, preserved as a token of a successful hunt.c. A memento, as of one’s personal achievements.d. The spoils of war, dedicated in classical antiquity with an inscription to a deity and set up as a temporary monument on or near a battlefield, placed in an existing temple, or housed in a permanent, new structure.2. a. An ornamental depiction of a group of weapons or pieces of armor.b. A similar depiction of a group of other items, such as musical instruments or agricultural implements.adj. Impressive or ostentatious so as to display one’s wealth or status: a trophy home.[French trophée, from Old French trophee, from Latin trophaeum, monument to victory, variant of tropaeum, from Greek tropaion, from neuter of tropaios, of defeat, from trop?, a turning, rout; see trep- in Indo-European roots.]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.trophy (?tr??f?) n, pl -phies1. (General Sporting Terms) an object such as a silver or gold cup that is symbolic of victory in a contest, esp a sporting contest; prize2. a memento of success, esp one taken in war or hunting3. (Historical Terms) (in ancient Greece and Rome)a. a memorial to a victory, usually consisting of captured arms raised on the battlefield or in a public placeb. a representation of such a memorial4. (Architecture) an ornamental carving that represents a group of weapons, etc5. (modifier) informal highly desirable and regarded as a symbol of wealth or success: a trophy wife. [C16: from French trophée, from Latin tropaeum, from Greek tropaion, from trop? a turning, defeat of the enemy; related to Greek trepein to turn]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014tro?phy (?tro? fi) n., pl. -phies. 1. anything taken in war, hunting, competition, etc., esp. when preserved as a memento. 2. anything won or awarded as a token or evidence of victory, valor, skill, etc.: athletic trophies. 3. a carving, painting, or other representation of objects associated with victory or achievement. 4. (in ancient Greece and Rome) a memorial to a military victory, orig. captured armor and weapons hung at the site of a rout. [1505?15; earlier trophe