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

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Etymology

Origin of trilogy

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

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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

Goth, star of Ti West’s “X” trilogy, on Tuesday filed her petition to divorce “Peanut Butter Falcon” and “Honey Boy” actor LaBeouf in Los Angeles Superior Court.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

There will still be major fights available, not least a potential trilogy with Eubank.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

"Union Town," which debuts Wednesday at the festival, is the third in a trilogy about worker struggles by the Oscar-winning US director, following 1976's "Harlan County U.S.A." and 1990's "American Dream."

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

They get both in “Drawn Together,” based on a duology by the Argentina-born novelist Mercedes Ron, whose “Culpables” trilogy has become a hit franchise for Prime Video and a young-adult phenomenon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

“You haven’t seen the prequels or the original trilogy? The podrace? Young Luke? This is a travesty. We have to fix that.”

From "Internment" 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

Sir Philip, author of the hugely popular novels about Lyra Silvertongue, the heroine of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust trilogies, thinks writers should be compensated.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2025

The core series of film trilogies center generations of Skywalkers and their legacies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 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

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Related Words

• threesome
• triad
• troika

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