decoration vs trophy

decoration

noun
  • Specifically, any mark of honor to be worn upon the person, as a medal, cross, or ribbon of an order of knighthood, bestowed for services in war, great achievements in literature, art, etc. 

  • The use of exotic sugars as decoys to distract the immune system of a host 

  • Any item that adorns, enriches, or beautifies; something added by way of embellishment or ornamentation. 

  • The act of adorning, embellishing, or honoring; ornamentation. 

trophy

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

  • An artifact or artwork that has been stolen by a criminal and traded on the black market. 

  • Any emblem of success; a status symbol. 

  • A display of weaponry and other militaria, often captured from a defeated enemy, as an ornament designed for the purpose of triumphalist display by a victor or as a show of military prowess by a monarch. 

  • An object taken by a serial killer or rapist as a memento of the crime. 

  • An animal killed by a trophy hunter that usually has its parts sold on the black market. 

  • A tropæum. 

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

verb
  • To win a trophy in a competition. 

  • To adorn with trophies. 

How often have the words decoration and trophy occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )