ménage à trois

American  

[mey-nahzh ah trwah, mey-nazh a trwah] / meɪˈnɑʒ ɑ ˈtrwɑ, meɪ naʒ a ˈtrwɑ /

Or menage a trois

noun

plural

ménages à trois

1. a domestic arrangement in which three people, usually a heterosexual couple and one other person, are engaged in a sexual or romantic relationship and occupy the same household.

2. threesome.

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ménage à trois British  

/ menaʒ a trwɑ /

noun

1. a sexual arrangement involving a married couple and the lover of one of them

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Etymology

Origin of ménage à trois

First recorded in 1860–65; from French: “household of three”

Example Sentences

But Carin’s presence throughout his subsequent marriage to the actress Emmy Sonnemann seemed to border on a menage a trois.

From Washington Post

He’d drifted toward booze and weed, forming a ménage à trois with his dyed-hair girlfriend, Cleo, and his aspiring dancer boyfriend, Paul.

From New York Times

Then he struck arms deals worth $24 billion with the UAE as part of an obscene military and commercial ménage à trois between the U.S., the UAE and Israel, which he absurdly tried to pass off as a peace agreement.

From Salon

She’s smoky and flirtatious in “Sugga,” comically desperate in “Amor Salvaje,” sinuous in “Llamame,” brazenly confident in “Business Woman” and breathily hypnotic in “Trio,” which proposes a ménage à trois.

From New York Times

At the center of the story is a ménage à trois: Natasha and Alain’s relationship is interrupted by her pragmatic decision to marry the president of Haiti, who is a fan of her artwork.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• love affair
• threesome