trick or treat
noun
variants:
or trick-or-treat
Definition of trick or treat
: a Halloween practice in which children wearing costumes go from door to door in a neighborhood saying "trick or treat" when a door is opened to ask for treats with the implied threat of playing tricks on those who refuse
… a whimsical 1951 Saturday Evening Post cover on which costumed children are surprised by a disguised adult who opens the door for trick-or-treat. — Antiques and The Arts Weekly
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Examples of trick or treat in a Sentence
We got all dressed up for trick or treat.
When the door opened the kids all shouted “Trick or treat!”.
Recent Examples on the Web
Some from his old apartment, one trick or treating with the kids. — Summer Block, Longreads, "Better Late," 23 Aug. 2019 The kid-friendly Brick or Treat event will include trick or treating along a trail in the park lined with large LEGO statues and meet-and-greets with characters being rolled out for the event. — Marco Santana, orlandosentinel.com, "Legoland to feature parades, candy, 5K race at holiday events," 20 Aug. 2019 Some of the events include four monthly movie nights, 16 health and wellness events occurring almost every week, a campfire session, a trick or treat event, a dog days event and a holiday tree lighting event. — Rick Kambic, chicagotribune.com, "Mellody Farm unveils new series of events to create experiences," 10 June 2019 No matter everyone’s sense of humor, even scaredy cats alike will love being trick or treated to a spook-tacular new play on words. — Blair Donovan, Country Living, "64 Halloween Puns for Giving All Your Ghoul Friends a Good Cackle," 18 July 2019 If your family's trick or treat night is Saturday, Oct. 28, check out this restaurant: 1. — Amy Schwabe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Kids in costume eat for free at 6 Milwaukee area restaurants to celebrate Trick or Treat," 23 Oct. 2017 Other activities throughout the year include scavenger hunts, trick or treating, exchanging valentines, a Halloween costume contest and bingo. 21. — Leigh Farr, azcentral, "Small Company Rankings," 13 June 2019 The man was wearing a Michael Myers mask, dark overalls, gloves and was carrying an orange plastic trick or treat pumpkin, records show. — John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, "Former MBTA trolley driver convicted of staging Halloween attack to collect worker’s compensation," 10 June 2019 Don't expect your child to trick or treat all evening. — Tara Clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "A fright-free Halloween: How to celebrate with your child with special needs," 9 Oct. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'trick or treat.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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