true / troō/ • adj. (tru·er, tru·est) 1. in accordance with fact or reality: a true story of course it's true that is not true of the people I am talking about. ∎  rightly or strictly so called; genuine: people are still willing to pay for true craftsmanship we believe in true love. ∎  real or actual: he has guessed my true intentions. ∎  said when conceding a point in argument or discussion: true, it faced north, but you got used to that.2. accurate or exact: it was a true depiction. ∎  (of a note) exactly in tune. ∎  (of a compass bearing) measured relative to true north: steer 085 degrees true. ∎  correctly positioned, balanced, or aligned; upright or level.3. loyal or faithful: he was a true friend. ∎  (true to) accurately conforming to (a standard or expectation); faithful to: this entirely new production remains true to the essence of Lorca's play.4. chiefly archaic honest: we appeal to all good men and true to rally to us.• adv. 1. chiefly poetic/lit. truly: Hobson spoke truer than he knew.2. accurately or without variation.• v. (trues, trued, tru·ing or true·ing) [tr.] bring (an object, wheel, or other construction) into the exact shape, alignment, or position required.PHRASES: come true actually happen or become the case: dreams can come true.out of true not in the correct or exact shape or alignment: take care not to pull the frame out of true.true to form (or type) being or behaving as expected: true to form, they took it well.true to life accurately representing real events or objects: artworks of the period were often composed in strident colors not true to life.DERIVATIVES: true·ness n.