Phrase guide

trophy wife

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -aɪf

1

noun

Meaning 1

A wife, usually young and attractive, regarded as a status symbol for her husband, usually older and affluent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory, idiomatic, informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a wife who is an attractive young woman; seldom the first wife of an affluent older man

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • his trophy wife was an asset to his business

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: wife, married woman

History

Etymology

Popularized by Julie Connelly in a Fortune magazine cover story in 1989, by analogy with a real estate trophy building.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 花瓶老婆 (huāpíng lǎopó) — young attractive wife serving as a status symbol for her husband
  • Chinese Mandarin: 花瓶妻 (huāpíngqī) — young attractive wife serving as a status symbol for her husband
  • Danish: trofækone — young attractive wife serving as a status symbol for her husband
  • Finnish: edustusvaimo — young attractive wife serving as a status symbol for her husband
  • German: Vorzeigefrau — young attractive wife serving as a status symbol for her husband
  • German: Trophäenfrau — young attractive wife serving as a status symbol for her husband
  • Hebrew: אישה לקישוט — young attractive wife serving as a status symbol for her husband
  • Hebrew: אישה ייצוגית — young attractive wife serving as a status symbol for her husband
  • Hebrew: אישה לראווה — young attractive wife serving as a status symbol for her husband
  • Māori: hine kōpepe — young attractive wife serving as a status symbol for her husband
  • Norwegian Bokmål: trofékone — young attractive wife serving as a status symbol for her husband
  • Portuguese: esposa troféu — young attractive wife serving as a status symbol for her husband
  • Russian: трофейная жена (trofejnaja žena) — young attractive wife serving as a status symbol for her husband