trophy

plural trophies

1. An object, usually in the form of a statuette, cup, or shield, awarded for success in a competition or to mark a special achievement.

   He won the trophy in a running competition.

2. An object taken as a prize by a hunter, or a conqueror or belligerent, especially one that is displayed.

   The set of antlers which hung on the wall was his prized trophy.

   3 more examples

   Around the posts hung helmets, darts, and spears, / And captive chariots, axes, shields, and bars, / And broken beaks of ships, the trophies of their wars.

   1697, Virgil, “The Seventh Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC

   They carried the dripping scalps of his companions, and one had skinned off Baptiste's black beard as well, for a trophy.

   1950, Dorothy M. Johnson, A Man Called Horse; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 171

   Similarly, the Soviet defence industry tested their guns by firing against German trophy tanks or fired against new Soviet vehicles with German guns or German ammunition.

   2011 July 26, L. Samuelson, Tankograd: The Formation of a Soviet Company Town: Cheliabinsk, 1900s-1950s, Springer, →ISBN, page 200

3. Any emblem of success; a status symbol.

   His trophies included his second wife, his successful children, the third and fourth homes in Palm Beach and Malibu, and his three yachts.

   1 more example

   “The stakes are getting so high,” Mr. MacDonald-Korth said in a telephone interview, referring to the skyrocketing amounts being paid for trophy works of art.

   2018 June 8, Scott Reyburn, “Art Is Becoming a Financial Product, and Blockchain Is Making It Happen”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

4. broadlycriminologyAn object taken by a serial killer or rapist as a memento of the crime.
5. Ancient RomehistoricalA tropæum.
6. architectureA display of weaponry and other militaria, often captured from a defeated enemy, as an ornament designed for the purpose of triumphalist display by a victor or as a show of military prowess by a monarch.

   A trophy from this murder would have been of great importance.

   2001, R. Michael Gordon, Alias Jack the Ripper: Beyond the Usual Whitechapel Suspects, →ISBN, page 82

   2 more examples

   The souvenirs which many killers retain of their victims are often described as trophies, and Norman Bates's taxidermic interests derived from the real-life Ed Gein.

   1994, Philip Jenkins, Using Murder: The Social Construction of Serial Homicide, →ISBN, page 117

   The offender is also likely to mentally relive his killings, often with the help of souvenirs or trophies, such as a bracelet or a body part taken from the victim.

   2004, Ronald F. Becker, Criminal Investigation, →ISBN, page 168

7. An artifact or artwork that has been stolen by a criminal and traded on the black market.
8. An animal killed by a trophy hunter that usually has its parts sold on the black market.

present singular third person trophies · participle present trophying · participle past trophied · past trophied

1. transitiveTo adorn (someone) with trophies.

   How many a night serene, shall I behold / Those vvarm attractive orbits, close inshrined / In ether, over vvhich Love's column rose / Marmoreal, trophied round vvith golden hair.

   1798 July, Walter Savage Landor, “Book IV”, in Gebir; a Poem, […], London: […] Rivingtons, […], →OCLC, page 35, lines 29–32

2. intransitiveTo win a trophy in a competition.

   He trophied at the 1993, 1994, 2012 and 2015 National Championships and was most proud of winning his class at the 2017 Spring Nationals.

   2021, “Harold C. 'Todd' Freeman, III”, in Star Tribune, archived from the original on 01 Dec 2021