three

[three]

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noun

a cardinal number, 2 plus 1.

a symbol for this number, as 3 or III.

a set of this many persons or things.

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

adjective

amounting to three in number.

Idioms

three sheets in the wind. sheet²(def 3).

Origin of three

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, OCS tri, Sanskrit trī, tráyas

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for three

treble, triple, trilateral, ternary, third, trinitarian, trio, troika, triumvirate, triad, trinity, triplicity, triplet, triplicate, trilogy, trichotomy, trivium, ternion, triangular, pyramidal

Examples from the Web for three

Contemporary Examples of three

Three on-the-record stories from a family: a mother and her daughters who came from Phoenix.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003
Vicky Ward
January 7, 2015
One of the other cops fired three times and those who were still able to give chase did.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown
Michael Daly
January 7, 2015
So I was looking back at the years, and that really popped out at me, those three years.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire
William O’Connor
January 6, 2015
Of the three nominated, Webster did the best, receiving 12 votes, Gohmert and Yoho received three and two votes, respectively.
Democrats Accidentally Save Boehner From Republican Coup
Ben Jacobs, Jackie Kucinich
January 6, 2015
Twin buglers played “Taps” and three police helicopters flew overhead in the missing-man formation.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss
Michael Daly
January 5, 2015

Historical Examples of three

Stater—A gold coin; estimated at about twelve shillings, three pence.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
You've been so devoted to her for three days that you've hardly bowed to old friends.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
For three days and three nights, Paralus remained in complete oblivion.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Mina, (plural Minæ)—Four pounds, three shillings, four pence.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Methought anon you saw me go down with three pikes in my breast.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for three

three

noun

the cardinal number that is the sum of two and one and is a prime numberSee also number (def. 1)

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

the amount or quantity that is one greater than two

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

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

determiner

amounting to threethree ships
(as pronoun)three were killed

Related formsRelated adjectives: ternary, tertiary, treble, tripleRelated prefixes: tri-, ter-

Word Origin for three

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for three

Old English þreo, fem. and neuter (masc. þri, þrie), from Proto-Germanic *thrijiz (cf. Old Frisian thre, Middle Dutch and Dutch drie, Old High German dri, German drei, Old Norse þrir, Danish tre), from PIE *tris- (cf. Sanskrit trayas, Avestan thri, Greek treis, Latin tres, Lithuanian trys, Old Church Slavonic trye, Irisn and Welsh tri "three").

3-D first attested 1952, abbreviation of three-dimensional (1878). Three-piece suit is recorded from 1909. Three cheers for ______ is recorded from 1751. Three-martini lunch is attested from 1972. Three-ring circus first recorded 1898. Three-sixty "complete turnaround" is from 1927, originally among aviators, in reference to the number of degrees in a full circle. Three musketeers translates French les trois mousquetaires, title of an 1844 novel by Alexandre Dumas père.