trojan horse: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
B2-C1Formal, technical, literary
Quick answer
What does “trojan horse” mean?
A large wooden horse used by the ancient Greeks to conceal soldiers and gain entry into the city of Troy, leading to its downfall.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A large wooden horse used by the ancient Greeks to conceal soldiers and gain entry into the city of Troy, leading to its downfall.
Any person, group, or thing that appears harmless but is used to secretly undermine or attack from within, especially in contexts like cybersecurity, business, or politics.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant lexical or pronunciation differences; both variants use the term similarly in written and spoken English.
Connotations
Similar connotations of deception, strategy, and hidden threat in both dialects.
Frequency
Equally common in UK and US English, particularly in academic, technical, and media contexts.
Grammar
How to Use “trojan horse” in a Sentence
a trojan horse for [purpose]to deploy a trojan horseas a trojan horseVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “trojan horse” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- They attempted to trojan horse the system during the audit.
- He was accused of trojan horsing his way into the committee.
American English
- Hackers tried to trojan horse the network to steal data.
- She trojan horsed the application by embedding malicious code.
adjective
British English
- The company faced a trojan horse attack on its servers.
- We need to watch for trojan horse software in downloads.
American English
- They discovered a Trojan horse program in the update.
- The policy was a Trojan horse measure for stricter controls.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Refers to a strategy, product, or employee that secretly works against an organization's interests, e.g., a competitor's product marketed as beneficial.
Academic
Used in history, literature, and computer science to describe deceptive infiltration or methodologies in research.
Everyday
Understood in metaphorical sense but less common in casual conversation; often invoked in discussions about trust or security.
Technical
In cybersecurity, a type of malware that disguises itself as legitimate software to gain unauthorized access or cause harm.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “trojan horse”
Strong
Neutral
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “trojan horse”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “trojan horse”
- Using it to refer to any large object without deceptive intent.
- Confusing it with other mythological terms like 'Pegasus' or 'Achilles' heel'.
- Incorrectly capitalizing as 'Trojan Horse' in all contexts; standard usage varies by style.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it originated from Greek mythology and is used metaphorically in various contexts such as politics, business, and security to describe any deceptive infiltration.
In British English, it is pronounced as /ˈtrəʊdʒən hɔːs/.
It is rare and generally considered informal; in formal contexts, phrases like 'infiltrate deceitfully' are preferred.
A Trojan horse is malware that disguises itself as legitimate software to trick users, whereas a virus is a program that self-replicates and spreads by attaching to other files.
A large wooden horse used by the ancient Greeks to conceal soldiers and gain entry into the city of Troy, leading to its downfall.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “a trojan horse”
- “to be a trojan horse in the camp”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of the Trojan Horse story: a gift that hides soldiers inside, just like a computer program that looks safe but contains malware.
Conceptual Metaphor
DECEPTION IS A HIDDEN CONTAINER
Practice
Quiz
What is the primary metaphorical meaning of 'Trojan horse'?