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• trivia
  trivia

  plural noun

  matters or things that are very unimportant, inconsequential, or nonessential; trifles; trivialities.
• Trivia
  Trivia

  noun

  (in Roman religion) Diana: so called because she was the goddess of three-way crossroads and also because she was regarded as a deity with three personae.

trivia

¹ American  

[triv-ee-uh] / ˈtrɪv i ə /

plural noun

1. matters or things that are very unimportant, inconsequential, or nonessential; trifles; trivialities.

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Trivia ² American  

[triv-ee-uh] / ˈtrɪv i ə /

noun

1. (in Roman religion) Diana: so called because she was the goddess of three-way crossroads and also because she was regarded as a deity with three personae.

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trivia British  

/ ˈtrɪvɪə /

noun

1. (functioning as singular or plural) petty details or considerations; trifles; trivialities

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Etymology

Origin of trivia¹

1900–05; pseudo-Latin trivia (neuter plural), taken as the base of trivial

Origin of Trivia²

First recorded in 1700–10; from Latin, feminine of trivius (adj.), derivative of trivium “place where three roads meet,” equivalent to tri- tri- + -vium, derivative of via “way, road”

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Explanation

Can you name the twenty-third vice-president? Do you know all the state birds? If so, you must be good at trivia: facts that are interesting but not necessarily important. Everybody probably knows trivia about something they enjoy. Baseball fans can quote batting averages of their favorite players; movie nuts can tell you exactly what films their favorite actors appeared in and who they played. The game "Trivial Pursuit" is full of questions about facts like that. Why would anyone bother with trivia? Usually, because they love the topic, or maybe they need to know it for their job. One person's trivia is another person's important information.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trivia Trivia

This comprehensive research never weighs down his account with tangents or trivia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

You might remember Pamela as the killer in the original film—a trivia fact horror fans love to share.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Or with arcane historical trivia, like the magazine capacity of the air rifle Lewis and Clark took on their westward expedition in the early 1800s.

From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026

One of that film’s memorable scenes featured Kirby in a tense trivia telephone showdown with the Ghostface killer, rushing through the titles of several slasher films while attempting to save one of her friends.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

“Now we’re back to the trivia bean. That’s the one I want. Was that the pink one? The red?”

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

Trivia AD, a company that organizes events around “Seinfeld” and other shows in New York and New Jersey, estimates as many as 30,000 people have tested their knowledge of the “show about nothing” since 2008.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

Trivia: De Armas is the first Cuban woman to be nominated for best actress.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 9, 2023

Trivia was a little underwhelming, mostly because the topics were completely unknown to us.

From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2023

Trivia, the coin of the realm in pop culture writing, is spilled here in abundance.

From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2022

“The Trivia Contest Questions!” he hollered, and everyone cheered and clapped again.

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt

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Related Words

• memorabilia
• minutiae

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