no-trump

2 8.4

A bridge contract where no card suit beats the others

noun
/noʊ trʌmp/

Jargon

: sin triunfo

His final bid of five no-trump surprised the other players, as it indicated confidence in his cards.
One no-trump

Examples

- One no-trump.

Myra Breckinridge (1970)
She successfully played three no-trump with a strong hand, knowing it would be a challenging contract.
Three no-trump.

Myra Breckinridge (1970)
Three no-trump?

Myra Breckinridge (1970)
During the game, he declared a no-trump bid, meaning that there would be no trump suit this round.

Surface Forms

no-trump singular

no-trumps plural

Morphology

no-trump = no + trump (semi-transparent) = no + trump

The components 'no' and 'trump' are clear, but the specific meaning in bridge as a bid or contract is specialized.

Etymology

No-trump comes from card games where a trump suit can 'beat' other suits and the no- part means 'without'. So no-trump means there is 'no' suit that automatically wins the hand.