three

American  

[three] / θri /

noun

• threes
  plural

1. a cardinal number, 2 plus 1.

2. a symbol for this number, as 3 or III.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. a playing card, die face, or half of a domino face with three pips.

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adjective

1. amounting to three in number.

idioms

1. three sheets in the wind. sheet.

three British  

/ θriː /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of two and one and is a prime number See also number

2. a numeral, 3, III, (iii), representing this number

3. the amount or quantity that is one greater than two

4. something representing, represented by, or consisting of three units such as a playing card with three symbols on it

5. Also called: three o'clock.  three hours after noon or midnight

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determiner

1. 1. amounting to three

      three ships

   2. ( as pronoun )

      three were killed

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• threes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of three

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English thrēo, thrīo, feminine and neuter of thrī(e); cognate with Dutch drie, German drei, Old Norse thrīr, Gothic threis, Greek treîs, Latin trēs “three,” ter “thrice,” Irish trí, Old Church Slavonic tri, Sanskrit trī, tráyas

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

three threes

The Dodgers went on to lose 5-4 to the Brewers, after Díaz was charged with three runs and a blown save.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

This is about three times the average rainfall in August, and the highest volume of precipitation ever recorded in the country.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

"What we do know is three incidents occurred that shouldn't have occurred. We need to understand why."

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

One Ukrainian unit says evacuations with ground drones can take anywhere from six hours to three days and involve 14 people in planning and execution.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Father Julien never imagined he’d be imprisoned for three years, but he still believes the Japanese will lose.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

But bad things come in threes, don't they?

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Good things do not always come in threes, and Lord's did not follow Wembley and Twickenham in hosting landmark moments of recent English sporting history.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

He doubled that number of made threes in the first half of Game 2.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026

Doncic’s step-back threes, mid-range floaters and driving layups powered the rise, but a rare dunk punctuated it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026

All those numbers, the fours and the threes and all that, yeah, add a "hundred" on the end, and then add a "meters" on the end of that.

From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds