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• three R's
  three R's

  plural noun

  reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic, regarded as the fundamentals of education.
• three Rs
  three Rs

  plural noun

  the three skills regarded as the fundamentals of education; reading, writing, and arithmetic

three R's

American  

plural noun

1. reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic, regarded as the fundamentals of education.

2. the fundamentals, basic knowledge, or skills of any system or field.

   the three R's of good government.

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three Rs British  

plural noun

1. the three skills regarded as the fundamentals of education; reading, writing, and arithmetic

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three R's Idioms  

1. The fundamentals of education, as in It's a terrible school; the children are not even taught the three R's. It is widely believed that Sir William Curtis, an alderman who became Lord Mayor of London, once presented a toast to the three R's—reading, riting, and rithmetic—thereby betraying his illiteracy. In any event, the term was picked up by others and so used from the early 1800s on.

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Etymology

Origin of three R's

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

three R's three Rs

You’re in such a unique position because vintage dealers are often checking off each box in the three R’s of recycling: reduce, reuse, recycle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2023

In an article in Wired magazine in 1993, he dismissed the three R’s — reading, ’riting and ’rithmetic — as outmoded.

From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2016

When it comes to borrowed money, I suggest deploying the three R’s – reorganize, retire and refinance.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 5, 2015

Usually we think of the three R’s, but those are skills.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 2, 2015

Remarkably, the three R’s of gene physiology are acutely dependent on the molecular structure of DNA—on the Watson-Crick base pairing of the double helix.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

My 4-year-old grandson can count the three Rs in strawberry.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2025

Melissa: I think we also need, in this conversation, a return to the first two of the three Rs that many of us learned in school: reduce and reuse when you can.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 19, 2024

And with just two days off, rarely do all three Rs needed for sanity get addressed.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 27, 2023

“How can you measure your progress on the three Rs if you’re not even counting the animals?”

From Science Magazine ● Jan. 12, 2021

I’ve had a pretty good training in the three Rs and am half way through Cæsar.

From Rodney, the Ranger With Daniel Morgan on Trail and Battlefield by John Goss