What does trick or treat mean?

Trick or treat means “give me a treat, or I will play a trick on you.” It’s a traditional Halloween saying that children use when they knock on doors in costumes to ask for candy on Halloween night.

You can also use “trick or treat” as a verb (e.g., “We’re trick or treating with our cousins this year”).

“Trick or treater” is the noun for the children who trick or treat on Halloween.

The Halloween saying “trick or treat” originates from Irish and Scottish All Hallows’ Eve traditions from the Middle Ages, when young people dressed up in costumes and performed a trick (e.g., a joke or a song) for each household in exchange for a treat.

The Halloween saying “trick or treat” came about in the early 1900s in the United States after pranks and mischief had become common Halloween activities. By this time, children no longer exchanged antics for treats but rather offered each household the choice of giving treats or getting pranked.

QuillBot’s free Paraphrasing Tool can help you use Halloween sayings like “trick or treat” correctly.