trio

[tree-oh]

noun

plural

trios 

1. a musical composition for three voices or instruments.

2. a company of three singers or players.

3. any group of three persons or things.

4. a subordinate division of a minuet, scherzo, march, etc., usually in a contrasted key and style (perhaps originally written for three instruments or in three parts).

trio

/ ˈtriːəʊ /

noun

1. a group of three people or things

2. music

   1. a group of three singers or instrumentalists or a piece of music composed for such a group

   2. a subordinate section in a scherzo, minuet, etc, that is contrastive in style and often in a related key

3. piquet three cards of the same rank

Word History and Origins

Origin of trio¹

1715–25; < Italian, equivalent to tri- tri- + ( du ) o two

Word History and Origins

Origin of trio¹

C18: from Italian, ultimately from Latin trēs three; compare _duo

Example Sentences

The Blue Jays were also starting an outfield trio known only to family and close friends.

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The company unveiled a trio of new technologies Wednesday that it’s testing or preparing to deploy in its warehouses and delivery vans.

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The neighbor, a policeman, comes to suspect that one or more of the trio is plotting a significant crime.

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The author, who has published two books on the Rolling Stones and a comprehensive biography of Leon Russell, is also a musician, fronting the alt-rock trio Buffalo Tom.

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He formed the rock trio Coupe de Villes with his buddies at USC and they made an album and played wrap parties.

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Related Words

• threesome 
• trilogy 
• triumvirate