three

[three]

noun

1. a cardinal number, 2 plus 1.

2. a symbol for this number, as 3 or III.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. a playing card, die face, or half of a domino face with three pips.

adjective

1. amounting to three in number.

three

/ θriː /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of two and one and is a prime number See also number

2. a numeral, 3, III, (iii), representing this number

3. the amount or quantity that is one greater than two

4. something representing, represented by, or consisting of three units such as a playing card with three symbols on it

5. Also called: three o'clock. three hours after noon or midnight

determiner

1. 1. amounting to three

      three ships

   2. ( as pronoun )

      three were killed

Word History and Origins

Origin of three¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English thrēo, thrīo, feminine and neuter of thrī(e); cognate with Dutch drie, German drei, Old Norse thrīr, Gothic threis, Greek treîs, Latin trēs “three,” ter “thrice,” Irish trí, Old Church Slavonic tri, Sanskrit trī, tráyas

Word History and Origins

Origin of three¹

Old English thrēo; related to Old Norse thrīr, Old High German drī, Latin trēs, Greek treis

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. three sheets in the wind. sheet.

Example Sentences

As part of the deal, the U.S. guaranteed the U.K. would get zero tariffs for its pharmaceutical exports to the U.S. for at least three years, the governments said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Each of the new opera’s five scenes in Act 1 and three in Act 2 are wondrous worlds of their own.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The couple was traveling in a pickup truck with their three small children when, at one point, the actor exited the vehicle and started walking on the road.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

I covered City against Leeds on Saturday and they got lucky, while away from home they have lost three times already.

Read more on BBC

It took three months for them to build the first iteration of what is now known as Cursor.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal