three
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.
amounting to three in number.
Idioms about three
three sheets in the wind. sheet2 (def. 3).
Origin of three
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use three in a sentence
Coughing, of course, happens in threes, fours, more—not to mention always coughing.
At the dawn of his third split, it seems as though the 50-year-old movie star has fallen victim to the curse of the threes.
The Curse of the Threes Tom Cruise may want to start looking for women his own age this time around.
In groups of twos and threes, we walked along nearly empty streets toward a large square on the eastern side of the Nile.
Egypt Revolution: Inside a Cairo Street Protest | Ursula Lindsey | January 28, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTThose that I now saw were yoked in twos or threes to large waggons, full of stones for mending the roads.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
The world was hurrying by—in twos and threes—hurrying to warm cafés, to friends, to lovers.
The Real Latin Quarter | F. Berkeley SmithThe lighter chants are in threes or fours, and consist of iambics and trochees irregularly.
The Indian in his Wigwam | Henry R. SchoolcraftThen he martialled his remaining men and threw them toward Gunnar in threes.
Hunters Out of Space | Joseph Everidge KelleamWhen she was able to sit up they would come by twos and threes and bring their work and chat until she was tired.
Girls and Women | Harriet E. Paine (AKA E. Chester}
British Dictionary definitions for three
/ (θriː) /
the cardinal number that is the sum of two and one and is a prime number: See 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
amounting to three: three ships
(as pronoun): three were killed
Origin of three
1Other words from three
- Related adjectives: ternary, tertiary, treble, triple
- Related prefixes: tri-, ter-
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
Browse