Trojan horse
noun
1
: someone or something intended to defeat or subvert from within usually by deceptive means
2
: a seemingly useful computer program that contains concealed instructions which when activated perform an illicit or malicious action (such as destroying data files)
also : the concealed instructions of such a program compare virus sense 3
Did you know?
After besieging the walls of Troy for ten years, the Greeks built a huge, hollow wooden horse, secretly filled it with armed warriors, and presented it to the Trojans as a gift for the goddess Athena, and the Trojans took the horse inside the city's walls. That night, the armed Greeks swarmed out and captured and burned the city. A Trojan horse is thus anything that looks innocent but, once accepted, has power to harm or destroy—for example, a computer program that seems helpful but ends up corrupting or demolishing the computer's software.
Example Sentences
They may be using the other corporation as a Trojan horse.
Word History
Etymology
from the large hollow wooden horse filled with Greek soldiers and introduced within the walls of Troy by a stratagem
First Known Use
1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Trojan horses
noun
as in fig leafs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- fig leafs
- Potemkin villages
- fig leaves
- shields
- screens
- blinds
- concealers
- blankets
- camouflages
- robes
- masks
- covertures
- hoods
- disguises
- wraps
- curtains
- penumbrae
- veils
- copes
- veneers
- coverings
- shrouds
- cloaks
- varnishes
- facades
- mantles
- palls
- faces
- glosses
- covers
- façades
- cover-ups
- penumbras