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.

---

three Rs British  

plural noun

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

---

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.

---

Etymology

Origin of three R's

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

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

There are three R’s you need to get done over the weekend: rest, repair and recreate.

From Washington Post • Feb. 27, 2023

The three R’s - reading, writing and arithmetic - are, or once were, considered the foundations of a basic skills-oriented education program.

From Washington Times • Nov. 15, 2017

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

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