English Reference
Idiom idiom

do the trick


To work; to be successful; to solve a problem; to be sufficient or adequate to fulfill a purpose.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

A quick nap should do the trick.

CONTEXTUAL

The door is stuck, but a little oil on the hinges ought to do the trick.

COMPLEX

While the makeshift repair was far from professional, it was enough to do the trick until the professional technician arrived the following morning.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    bag of tricks

    A set of skills, techniques, items of information, or other resources used to help achieve professional or personal goals.

  2. 02

    how's tricks

    Informal greeting roughly equivalent to How are you? or How's it going?

  3. 03

    Jedi mind trick

    A mental feat such as apparently inducing someone to act a certain way or reading someone's mind, achieved as if by magic or telepathy.

  4. 04

    know every trick in the book

    To know all there is to be known about a certain discipline.

  5. 05

    penny-come-quick

    [Cockney slang]a trick

  6. 06

    trick of the trade

    A shortcut or other quick, or very effective way of doing things, that professional workers learn from experience.

  7. 07

    trick question

    A question that attempts to elicit an answer in a certain way, usually incorrectly (i.e. that seems to have an obvious answer that is however incorrect), or a question that does not have a correct answer or that hides the real question or some difficulty.

  8. 08

    trick up one's sleeve

    Synonym of ace up one's sleeve.

Last updated August 10, 2026