trio
Americannoun
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a musical composition for three voices or instruments.
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a company of three singers or players.
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any group of three persons or things.
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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).
noun
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a group of three people or things
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music
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a group of three singers or instrumentalists or a piece of music composed for such a group
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a subordinate section in a scherzo, minuet, etc, that is contrastive in style and often in a related key
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piquet three cards of the same rank
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of trio
Explanation
Whether it’s birds, opera singers, aces, or golfers, you can use the word trio to refer to anything made up of three. You can probably tell by tri- that trio involves three of something. It’s often used to describe a musical arrangement featuring three vocal parts or three different instruments, or a musical group made up of three players, such as a jazz trio consisting of a piano player, a bass player, and a drummer. For those not musically inclined, the word can be used more broadly to refer to three of anything, such as a trio of friends.
Vocabulary lists containing trio
Music - Introductory
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Music - Middle School
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Music - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
White had tasted success in the late 1960s as the drummer in the Ramsey Lewis Trio before putting together the group that would become Earth, Wind & Fire.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026
It moves on to the high-energy heartbreak of “Love Letters,” featuring Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 13, 2025
The Smiths are a wealthy superhero team known as The Top Trio.
From Salon • Oct. 2, 2025
The event will include seven hours of live music from Banda Vagos, Trio Los Latinos and Mariachi Ayutla, among other Latino musicians.
From Seattle Times • May 3, 2024
The Hood Trio, tighter than the inside of Voldemort’s nose.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
