Noun

(en noun)

The act of achieving or performing; a successful performance; accomplishment

* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham)

, title=(The China Governess) , chapter=1 citation , passage=The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement .}}

* {{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April

, author= , title=Well-connected Brains , volume=100, issue=2, page=171 , magazine=(American Scientist) citation , passage=Creating a complete map of the human connectome would therefore be a monumental milestone but not the end of the journey to understanding how our brains work. The achievement will transform neuroscience and serve as the starting point for asking questions we could not otherwise have answered, […].}}

A great or heroic deed or feat; something accomplished by valor or boldness

* [The exploits] of the ancient saints do far surpass the most famous achievements of pagan heroes. - (Isaac Barrow)

* The highest achievements of the human intellect. - (Thomas Babington Macaulay)

(heraldry) An escutcheon or ensign armorial; now generally applied to the funeral shield commonly called hatchment.

(video games) An award for completing a particular task or meeting an objective in a video game.

Noun

(trophies)

.

An object, usually in the form of a statuette, cup, or shield, awarded for success in a competition or to mark a special achievement.

He won the trophy in a running competition.

An object taken as a prize by a hunter or conqueror, especially one that is displayed.

* Dryden

Around the posts hung helmets, darts, and spears, / And captive chariots, axes, shields, and bars, / And broken beaks of ships, the trophies of their wars.

The set of antlers which hung on the wall was his prized trophy .

Any emblem of success; a status symbol.

His trophies included his second wife, his successful children, the third and fourth homes in Palm Beach and Malibu, his three yachts (for the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean), his jet, and his mistresses.

(criminology, by extension) An object taken by a serial killer or rapist as a memento of the crime.

* 1994 , Philip Jenkins, Using Murder: The Social Construction of Serial Homicide [http://books.google.com/books?id=nhXmk3Tm-SQC], ISBN 0202305252, page 117:

The souvenirs which many killers retain of their victims are often described as trophies , and Norman Bates's taxidermic interests derived from the real-life Ed Gein.

* 2001 , R. Michael Gordon, Alias Jack the Ripper: Beyond the Usual Whitechapel Suspects [http://books.google.com/books?id=n5PWnVtQs4MC], ISBN 0786408987, page 82:

A trophy from this murder would have been of great importance.

* 2004 , Ronald F. Becker, Criminal Investigation [http://books.google.com/books?id=YDGaGSdjc6kC], ISBN 0763731684, page 168:

The offender is also likely to mentally relive his killings, often with the help of souvenirs or trophies , such as a bracelet or a body part taken from the victim.