Trojan horse

[troh-juhn hawrs]

noun

1. Classical Mythology.,  a gigantic hollow wooden horse, left by the Greeks upon their pretended abandonment of the siege of Troy. The Trojans took it into Troy and Greek soldiers concealed in the horse opened the gates to the Greek army at night and conquered the city.

2. a person or thing intended to undermine or destroy from within.

3. Also called Trojan. Computers.,  a nonreplicating computer program planted illegally in another program to do damage locally when the software is activated.

Trojan Horse

noun

1. Also called: the Wooden Horse. Greek myth the huge wooden hollow figure of a horse left outside Troy by the Greeks when they feigned retreat and dragged inside by the Trojans. The men concealed inside it opened the city to the final Greek assault

2. a trap intended to undermine an enemy

3. computing a bug inserted into a program or system designed to be activated after a certain time or a certain number of operations

Trojan Horse

1. In classical mythology, a large, hollow horse made of wood used by the Greeks to win the Trojan War (see also Trojan War). The resourceful Odysseus had come up with the plan for the horse. The Greeks hid soldiers inside it and left it outside the gates of Troy. They anchored their ships just out of sight of Troy and left a man behind to say that the goddess Athena would be pleased if the Trojans brought the horse inside the city and honored it. The Trojans took the bait, against the advice of Cassandra and Laocoon. That night the Greek army returned to Troy. The men inside the horse emerged and opened the city gates for their companions. The Greeks sacked the city, thus winning the war.

The story of the Trojan horse is the source of the saying “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Trojan Horse¹

First recorded in 1570–80, in 1835–40 Trojan horse for def. 2, and in 1970–75 Trojan horse for def. 3

Example Sentences

Then on Wednesday, Customs and Border Protection agents burst out of a Penske rental truck and detained day laborers at a Westlake Home Depot in a raid dubbed “Operation Trojan Horse.”

From Los Angeles Times

Mayor Karen Bass said it appears as if the Wednesday raid at a Home Depot in Westlake — dubbed “Operation Trojan Horse” — violated the order, but city attorneys are still trying to determine the facts.

From Los Angeles Times

Although she said she still supports the president, she called the plane deal "a stain" and posted a cartoon of the Trojan Horse, redrawn as a plane and filled with armed Islamist militants.

From BBC

GLP-1 can be used as a 'Trojan Horse' to smuggle a specific molecule into the brain of mice, where it successfully affects the plasticity of the brain and results in weight loss.

From Science Daily

Cassandra A ancient Trojan priestess who was fated to be a prophet but never believed, most famously about Greek troops hiding inside the Trojan Horse.

From Los Angeles Times