trivia
plural noun
matters or things that are very unimportant, inconsequential, or nonessential; trifles; trivialities.
trivia
1 American
[triv-ee-uh]
/ ˈtrɪv i ə /
plural noun
Trivia
2
American
[triv-ee-uh]
/ ˈtrɪv i ə /
noun
trivia
British
/ ˈtrɪvɪə /
noun
Etymology
Origin of trivia1
1900–05; pseudo-Latin trivia (neuter plural), taken as the base of trivial
Origin of Trivia2
First recorded in 1700–10; from Latin, feminine of trivius (adj.), derivative of trivium “place where three roads meet,” equivalent to tri- tri- + -vium, derivative of via “way, road”
Explanation
Can you name the twenty-third vice-president? Do you know all the state birds? If so, you must be good at trivia: facts that are interesting but not necessarily important. Everybody probably knows trivia about something they enjoy. Baseball fans can quote batting averages of their favorite players; movie nuts can tell you exactly what films their favorite actors appeared in and who they played. The game "Trivial Pursuit" is full of questions about facts like that. Why would anyone bother with trivia? Usually, because they love the topic, or maybe they need to know it for their job. One person's trivia is another person's important information.
Vocabulary lists containing trivia
A First Time for Everything
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Doing Time Online
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Not Nothing
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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.
See Examples For:
Test your trivia knowledge: Calling all history buffs!
From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2026
You might remember Pamela as the killer in the original film—a trivia fact horror fans love to share.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Can we do a little Herb Alpert trivia to finish?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Speaking on any given topic, he developed a trademark style built around a "key point", often a piece of trivia, and asked the audience to take note, like a teacher addressing students, which impressed them.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
When Pasta-palooza was just the five of them, and everyone knew the rules for playing trivia, and Axel got the first big spoonful of the elbows with butter, and Byrd called him her buttervore.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
Trivia, whisky tastings, casino games and pickleball went on as usual.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Trivia: If Yeoh were to win, she would become the first Asian woman awarded in that category.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 9, 2023
Trivia was a little underwhelming, mostly because the topics were completely unknown to us.
From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2023
Trivia, the coin of the realm in pop culture writing, is spilled here in abundance.
From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2022
And Ernie Eco said that the prize for the Trivia Contest was going to be a baseball signed by a Yankee.
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
