trilogy

American  

[tril-uh-jee] / ˈtrɪl ə dʒi /

noun

trilogies plural

1. a series or group of three plays, novels, operas, etc., that, although individually complete, are closely related in theme, sequence, or the like.

2. (in ancient Greek drama) a series of three complete and usually related tragedies performed at the festival of Dionysus and forming a tetralogy with the satyr play.

3. a group of three related things.

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trilogy British  

/ ˈtrɪlədʒɪ /

noun

1. a series of three related works, esp in literature, etc

2. (in ancient Greece) a series of three tragedies performed together at the Dionysian festivals

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• trilogies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of trilogy

From the Greek word trilogía, dating back to 1655–65. See tri-, -logy

Explanation

If you’ve just started a trilogy of books, you’ll be reading for a while. A trilogy is something that has three parts, so you'll have three books to read. You can see the tri-, meaning "three," in trilogy. The word originates from the Greek word trilogia, meaning "series of three related tragedies performed at Athens at the festival of Dionysus." Today, you can use trilogy to describe three of anything, such as a trilogy of movies that has the same characters, settings, and themes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trilogy trilogies

With “Harlem Shuffle,” Whitehead begins his crime trilogy in the 1960s in a furniture store with stylish midcentury stock whose owner, Ray Carney, is trying not to be a fence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Yet I can’t call it one of Mr. Nolan’s best pictures; nor is it as satisfying as Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which constitutes perhaps its nearest contemporary equivalent.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

He is Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Caesar in the Planet of Ape series, and Peter Jackson's King Kong.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

At the Warner-owned New Line, Mr. Shaye would triumph commercially and critically with the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Violet and I just watched the trilogy for twelve hours of Aragorn.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

He wrote more than two dozen books, including Cold War spy trilogies and World War II nonfiction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

Boyens, along with with Jackson and screenwriter Fran Walsh, oversaw the “LOTR” and The Hobbit” film trilogies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026

Author Philip Pullman has revealed details of the sixth and final book in his series about Lyra Silvertongue, the character at the heart of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust trilogies.

From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2025

"For all the scope and detail lovingly packed into the two trilogies, the vast, complex and dazzling universe dreamed up by J.R.R. Tolkien remains largely unexplored on film," Warner Bros.

From Reuters ● Feb. 24, 2023

He also edited Hesiod, the chief lyric, tragic and comic poets, arranged Plato’s dialogues in trilogies, and abridged Aristotle’s Nature of Animals.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 5 "Arculf" to "Armour, Philip" by Various

Related Words

• threesome
• triad
• troika