triple
/ˈtrɪp(ə)l
/adjective [attributive]
1Consisting of or involving three items or people: a triple murder triple somersaults...
- They now face life imprisonment without parole in a U.S. jail for the vicious triple murder that took place in a Seattle suburb.
- Three men and three women will play triple aspects of the man and woman.
- It is the creative equivalent of the gymnast's triple somersault.
Synonyms
three-way, tripartite;
threefold
1.1Having three times the usual size, quality, or strength: a triple dark rum...
- They now were triple in size since Grace moved away.
- And speaking of the bathroom, I buy the econo-pak of triple size toilet paper rolls and they're gone in two weeks.
- With this state of mind come all the positive emotions with double and sometimes triple strength.
Synonyms
three times, three times as much as, treble
predeterminer
Three times as much or as many: the copper energy cells had triple the efficiency of silicon cells...
- I could go on a rant about how sugar subsidies cause American consumers to pay triple the market price for sugar, just to get the privilege of ruining the Everglades.
- The newspaper yesterday quoted commission officials as saying the last-minute payout to voters was triple the amount spent at the last election.
- No one's saying, Oh, I'll wait until October so I can pay triple the car tax.
noun
1A thing that is three times as large as usual or is made up of three standard units or items: two whiskies—triples, please...
- Place-level data on the number of housing units from single family to doubles, triples, and buildings with more than five units built every month or every year.
- Other cacti, sunflowers, and pinecones display this or other triples of Fibonacci numbers.
- Add a daily double latte (make that a triple) and it's no wonder so many of us experience sensory overload and find it hard to wind down at day's end.
Synonyms
trio, threesome, triumvirate, triad, troika;
three
2 (triples) A sporting contest in which each side has three players.In the triples event, the three women grabbed a silver medal after winning four games, drawing one and losing the other....
- Northern Ireland will send their strongest ever squad, while hopes are high for the Scottish EAD triples team after their win at the inaugural multi-disability bowls triples at Nottingham last year.
- The Twins lead the American League in doubles and triples.
3 (triples) Bell-ringing A system of change-ringing using seven bells, with three pairs changing places each time.I can ring touches of Stedman Doubles no problems but whenever I look at the Stedman Triples work I get nowhere....
- To help with compiling the collection, and to ensure the truth and accuracy of the published peals, I developed some software specifically for entering and checking Stedman Triples compositions.
- Grandsire and Stedman triples are regularly rung for Sunday Service.
4 Baseball A hit which enables the batter to reach third base.He got back and started pounding doubles and triples down the third base line....
- He hit only 240 with 17 home runs, but he did record nine triples and 26 stolen bases.
- He had 22 home runs, seven triples, 27 doubles and 27 stolen bases.
verb [no object]
1Become three times as much or as many: grain prices were expected to triple...
- Despite abandoning plans for a flotation earlier this year, turnover is expected to triple this year.
- The world freight market is expected to triple in the next 20 years.
- If the predictions are correct residents can expect pollution levels to triple, vegetation to be destroyed and global warming to speed up.
Synonyms
treble, increase by three
1.1 [with object] Multiply by three: the party more than tripled its share of the vote...
- It has tripled its share price in the past four months.
- The shares have more than tripled this year to trade last Friday at E20.08.
- For example, since its relaunch in 1989, the company tripled its share of the cat food market and established itself as the number two brand.
Derivatives
triply
/ adverb ...- That notion applies triply to the kinetic art of movies.
- Every booking had been triply checked to avoid such disasters.
- He must prove his case doubly, triply, quadruply, and then he must start all over and prove it again.
Origin
Middle English (as an adjective and adverb): from Old French, or from Latin triplus, from Greek triplous.
triad from mid 16th century:
Triad meaning ‘set of three’ goes back to Greek tres ‘three’. The Chinese secret societies are called Triads from their Chinese name San Ho Hui which can be translated as ‘tripe union society’. Triangle (Late Middle English) comes from the same word. The eternal triangle of romance dates from the early 20th century. Trinitas is the Latin for ‘triad’ and the source of trinity (Middle English). The musical trio (early 18th century) comes from the Italian development of tres. Triple (Middle English) is from the same root; and tripod (early 17th century) is a three-footed device, from tri- ‘three’ podes ‘feet’. Trivet (Late Middle English) comes from the Latin form of the word.