true

[ troo ]

adjective

, tru·er, tru·est.

1. being in accordance with the actual state or conditions; conforming to reality or fact; not false:

   a true story.

   Synonyms: veracious, factual

2. real; genuine; authentic:

   true gold; true feelings.

3. sincere; not deceitful:

   a true interest in someone's welfare.

   Synonyms: honest

4. firm in allegiance; loyal; faithful; steadfast:

   a true friend.

   Synonyms: steady, constant, staunch, trustworthy

5. being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something:

   the true meaning of his statement.

6. conforming to or consistent with a standard, pattern, or the like:

   a true copy.

7. exact; precise; accurate; correct:

   a true balance.

   Synonyms: faithful

8. of the right kind; such as it should be; proper:

   to arrange things in their true order.

9. properly so called; rightly answering to a description:

   true statesmanship.

10. legitimate or rightful:

    the true heir.

11. reliable, unfailing, or sure:

    a true sign.

12. exactly or accurately shaped, formed, fitted, or placed, as a surface, instrument, or part of a mechanism.
13. honest; honorable; upright.
14. Biology. conforming to the type, norm, or standard of structure of a particular group; typical:

    The lion is a true cat.

15. Animal Husbandry. purebred.
16. Navigation. (of a bearing, course, etc.) determined in relation to true north.
17. Archaic. truthful.

noun

1. exact or accurate formation, position, or adjustment:

   to be out of true.

2. the true, something that is true; truth.

adverb

1. in a true manner; truly; truthfully.
2. exactly or accurately.
3. in conformity with the ancestral type:

   to breed true.

verb (used with object)

, trued, tru·ing or true·ing.

1. to make true; shape, adjust, place, etc., exactly or accurately:

   to true the wheels of a bicycle after striking a pothole.

2. (especially in carpentry) to make even, symmetrical, level, etc. (often followed by up ):

   to true up the sides of a door.

true

/ truː /

adjective

1. not false, fictional, or illusory; factual or factually accurate; conforming with reality
2. prenominal being of real or natural origin; genuine; not synthetic

   true leather

3. 1. unswervingly faithful and loyal to friends, a cause, etc

      a true follower

   2. ( as collective noun ; preceded by the )

      the loyal and the true

4. faithful to a particular concept of truth, esp of religious truth

   a true believer

5. conforming to a required standard, law, or pattern

   a true fit

   a true aim

6. exactly in tune

   a true note

7. (of a compass bearing) according to the earth's geographical rather than magnetic poles

   true north

8. biology conforming to the typical structure of a designated type

   sphagnum moss is a true moss, Spanish moss is not

9. physics not apparent or relative; taking into account all complicating factors Compare apparent

   the true expansion of a liquid takes into account the expansion of the container

10. not true informal.
    unbelievable; remarkable

    she's got so much money it's not true

11. true to life
    exactly comparable with reality

noun

1. correct alignment (esp in the phrases in true, out of true )

adverb

1. truthfully; rightly
2. precisely or unswervingly

   he shot true

3. biology without variation from the ancestral type

   to breed true

verb

1. tr to adjust so as to make true

Derived Forms

• ˈtrueness, noun

Other Words From

• trueness noun
• half-true adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of true¹

before 900; Middle English trewe (adj. and adv.), Old English trēowe (adj.) loyal, trusty, honest ( trow, truce ); akin to Dutch trouw, German treu, Old Norse tryggr, Gothic triggws

Word History and Origins

Origin of true¹

Old English triewe ; related to Old Frisian triūwe , Old Saxon, Old High German triuwi loyal, Old Norse tryggr ; see trow , trust

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. come true, to have the expected or hoped-for result; become a reality:

   She couldn't believe that her dream would ever come true.

More idioms and phrases containing true

• come true
• course of true love
• dream come true
• find true north
• hold good (true)
• ring false (true)
• run (true) to form
• too good to be true
• tried and true

Synonym Study

See real ¹.

Example Sentences

He also hosts the syndicated version of the true crime newsmagazine “Dateline.”

From Los Angeles Times

Part thriller, part true crime investigation, the nonfiction book uses one of the most heinous unsolved crimes of the Troubles — the 1972 disappearance of Jean McConville, a widowed mother of 10 who was abducted from her Belfast home by intruders assumed to be members of the Irish Republican Army — to explore the lingering trauma of political violence on survivors and perpetrators alike.

From Los Angeles Times

Lennox read the book after a friend gave it to him several years ago and, like a true Irishman, was skeptical that an outsider could capture the complexities of his community.

From Los Angeles Times

It was probably inevitable that Patrick Radden Keefe’s gripping 2019 bestseller “Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland” would be adapted by Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times

It is a remarkably universal feeling that comes out of the documentary, and I hope this same is true of the show, because that was the goal.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• accurate
• appropriate
• authentic
• bona fide
• correct
• genuine
• honest
• legitimate
• natural
• normal
• perfect
• proper
• pure
• sincere
• truthful
• typical