triple

American  

[trip-uhl] / ˈtrɪp əl /

adjective

1. threefold; consisting of three parts.

   a triple knot.

2. of three kinds; threefold in character or relationship.

3. three times as great.

4. International Law. tripartite.

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noun

• triples
  plural

1. an amount, number, etc., three times as great as another.

2. a group, set, or series of three; something threefold; triad.

3. Also called three-base hit. Baseball. a base hit that enables a batter to reach third base safely.

4. Bowling. three strikes in succession.

5. trifecta.

verb (used with object)

• triples,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tripled,
  past participle,  past
• tripling
  present participle

1. to make triple.

2. Baseball. to cause to come into home plate by a triple.

   to triple a runner home; to triple a run in.

verb (used without object)

• triples,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tripled,
  past participle,  past
• tripling
  present participle

1. to become triple.

2. Baseball. to make a triple.

triple British  

/ ˈtrɪpəl /

adjective

1. consisting of three parts; threefold

2. (of musical time or rhythm) having three beats in each bar

3. three times as great or as much

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noun

1. a threefold amount

2. a group of three

verb

1. to increase or become increased threefold; treble

Usage

What is a basic definition of triple? Triple describes something as being made of three parts or being three times as great. Triple also means a set of three. The word triple has several other senses as an adjective, noun, and verb. In any sense, the word triple always has to do with the number three. Triple often describes something that is made of three parts or contains three of something.

• Real-life examples: A triple-layer cake has three layers. A triple homicide involves the murder of three people. A triple-decker bus has three decks of seats. A cardplayer who has triple aces has three cards with aces on them.
• Used in a sentence: My famous triple-layer cake has two layers of chocolate cake and one layer of vanilla cake. 

Triple also often describes something that is three times as great as something else. For example, a couch that is triple the price of another couch costs three times as much.

• Used in a sentence: I sold my bike for $300, which is triple the $100 I paid for it.  

In this sense, triple is used as a verb to mean to multiply something by three. For example, if you triple 2, you get 6 because 2 x 3 = 6.

• Used in a sentence: I think I will triple the tablespoons of sugar in the next batch of lemonade from 2 tablespoons to 6. 

Triple is also a noun that means a set of three. The word triplet is also commonly used in this sense.

• Used in a sentence: The shirts were packaged together in triples of red, white, and blue.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• triply
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• triples
  plural

Participles

• tripling
  present
• tripled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• triple
  simple
• triples
  simple
• have tripled
  perfect
• has tripled
  perfect
• am tripling
  progressive
• are tripling
  progressive
• is tripling
  progressive
• have been tripling
  perfect progressive
• has been tripling
  perfect progressive

Past

• tripled
  simple
• had tripled
  perfect
• was tripling
  progressive
• were tripling
  progressive
• had been tripling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will triple
  simple
• will have tripled
  perfect
• will be tripling
  progressive
• will have been tripling
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of triple

1325–75; Middle English (noun and v.) < Latin triplus (adj.), equivalent to tri- tri- + ( du ) plus duple

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Explanation

Triple means to multiply by three. If you triple the number two, you get six, and six is the triple of the number two. In triple, you see tri which means three. You see this prefix in tricycle (three wheels), tripod (three legs), and triplet (three siblings born at the same time). To triple is to increase threefold, just as to double means to increase twofold, quadruple fourfold and quintuple fivefold. In each of these pairs, the former word is Latin based and the latter has Old English origins.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

triple triples tripled tripling

That’s more than triple its 2001 level, and analysts expect the post-World War II record of 106% to fall in a few years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

Just moments after that triple change, which brought Chelsea's total number of substitutions to five, Estevao could be seen ending his warm-up and retreating to the bench.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

On paper, Seagate topped expectations with its report late Tuesday, and the company saw earnings per share nearly triple.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

Under the plan, Frontex's "standing corps" will triple to around 30,000.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

“Start with the guy under the triple zeros wedge of the Wonder Dome,” suggested Kyle.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Around 77,000 people live here, but that number already triples during the summer due to incoming holidaymakers.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026

Still, Roberts noted his intensity Saturday, after Díaz gave up the lead with back-to-back triples.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

“We’re relentless. It could be anybody’s night,” said Miles McBride, who has chipped in three triples over the series.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

Moderna’s first-quarter revenue more than triples to $389 million, leading to a narrower quarterly loss of $1.34 billion.

From Barron's ● May 1, 2026

He was also the only player in history to ever hit four triples in one game.

From "Holes" by Louis Sachar

Operating income for the unit tripled to $11.1 billion.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

The second tripled monthly sales but left when her university semester resumed.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

Rejection rates in counties where services were cut doubled or tripled from what they were four years ago, dwarfing any increases in counties where postal pickups remained as they were, our analysis showed.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026

At national landscape design and build platform Yardzen, demand for fire-resilient design has more than tripled since 2024.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

And so the anger of the mob at Mary’s death was doubled and tripled because a Burdow was responsible.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt

Wall Street analysts see third-quarter profits nearly tripling from a year earlier, according to FactSet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Unusual weather conditions played a role, officials said, with the number of extreme heat warning days tripling from five in 2025 to 15 so far this year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Assets under management for the four-year-old ETF totaled $1.9 billion as of Sept. 21, more than tripling from $640 million when MarketWatch spoke to Campbell in February.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

"That's why we are tripling investment over the next five years to halve spills from storm overflows and upgrade the capacity of 1,700 wastewater treatment works," a spokesperson said.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

These perks act as multipliers, a doubling or tripling down on an already overflowing basket of advantages: the parents’ good genes, the family’s wealth and status, the leafy neighborhood within the excellent school district.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

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Related Words

• threefold

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