Definition of trust: v. trust·ed, trust·ing, trusts

v. tr.

To have or place confidence in; depend on.

To expect with assurance; assume: I trust that you will be on time.

To believe: I trust what you say.

To place in the care of another; entrust.

To grant discretion to confidently: Can I trust them with the boat?

To extend credit to.

Trust is to put your life in someone else's hands. It means that you believe in that person, and know that person will take care of your safety. Or to leave answers on a table and know that your students won't take a peep at them when your back is turned. Perhaps to place a few bills on the table and be able to feel that when you turn around, the notes will still be there.

Trust was more prominent last time, when they had newspaper stands where you were trusted to pay for the newspaper via a coinbox before taking the paper. Nowadays, they have people manning the stalls, or padlock the papers to the stand in order to prevent people from taking them without paying.

Have we grown this petty?

Of course, there is also the other type of trust. The trust in an inhuman object, a piece of equipment or such. These things may someday save your life. Mountaineers depend on ropes, hemp and the like to carry them safely up the mountain, or at least to aid them. Then there are pickaxes, harnesses. Everytime a climber puts a harness on, or uses a pickaxe, isn't he placing his trust in the equipment? If the pickaxe breaks, he might fall or injure himself. If the harness breaks, or a clip is loose, then he might lose his life!

It takes alot of courage to trust someone or something, especially when one isn't sure whether the equipment will hold or if the person is reliable. Have you noticed that the trust between mountain climbers is always very strong? They depend on each other for their survival so they will reach the top, and also have to coordinate well.

Trust is pretty hard to cultivate, especially if the same person keeps failing you time and again, but once it's there, it'll take alot to shake it.

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