treble
Americanadjective
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threefold; triple.
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Music.
-
of or relating to the highest part in harmonized music; soprano.
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of the highest pitch or range, as a voice part, voice, singer, or instrument.
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high in pitch; shrill.
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noun
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trebles
plural
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Music.
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the treble or soprano part.
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a treble voice, singer, or instrument.
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a high or shrill voice or sound.
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the highest-pitched peal of a bell.
verb (used with or without object)
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trebles,
present (3rd person singular)
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trebled,
past participle, past
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trebling
present participle
adjective
-
threefold; triple
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of, relating to, or denoting a soprano voice or part or a high-pitched instrument
noun
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three times the amount, size, etc
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a soprano voice or part or a high-pitched instrument
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the highest register of a musical instrument
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the high-frequency response of an audio amplifier, esp in a record player or tape recorder
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a control knob on such an instrument by means of which the high-frequency gain can be increased or decreased
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Leisure:Bell-ringing the lightest and highest bell in a ring
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-
the narrow inner ring on a dartboard
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a hit on this ring
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verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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treblesimple
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treblessimple
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have trebledperfect
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has trebledperfect
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am treblingprogressive
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are treblingprogressive
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is treblingprogressive
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have been treblingperfect progressive
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has been treblingperfect progressive
Past
-
trebledsimple
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had trebledperfect
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was treblingprogressive
-
were treblingprogressive
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had been treblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of treble
1275–1325; (adj. and noun) Middle English < Middle French < Latin triplus triple; (v.) Middle English treblen, derivative of the adj.
Explanation
Something that's treble has three parts or sections. You could describe a tricycle as a treble wheeled vehicle. You can use the adjective treble to mean "triple," either because it's three times as large, or has three components. If you watch three movies in a row at a theater, you can call it a treble feature. A three-headed monster can also be described as treble headed. Another meaning of treble is a high-pitched singing voice, especially a boy's. Treble comes from the Latin word triplus, or "threefold."
Vocabulary lists containing treble
"The Tempest," Vocabulary from Acts 1 and 2
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Excerpt from "As You Like It"
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Part 2 Vocabulary (Unit 3)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport is seeking treble damages, a court order barring the alleged anticompetitive practices and preliminary injunctive relief to prevent Amazon from terminating additional DSPs during the litigation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport seeks treble damages and a court order to bar the alleged anticompetitive practices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
An emphatic 6-0 win over nine-man Qatar put them in a great position to qualify from the group, with Jonathan David's treble sparking joyous celebrations in Vancouver.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
A treble for Messi and doubles for Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland - the big boys came out to play.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
This was followed in turn by a flapping sound, the feel of a pair of four-toed feet in his hair, and the deep-throated treble of a familiar voice.
From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli
He added winning trebles was "the standard and expectation we've set".
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2025
Midfielder Ferguson and winger McCann helped Rangers win two domestic trebles, with the former winning five league titles and 15 trophies over two spells.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2025
Defeat ended City’s bid to become the first English team to win back-to-back Champions League titles and its pursuit of successive trebles.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 17, 2024
Alan Shearer, who has netted more Premier League goals than anyone with 260, scored 11 trebles.
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2023
Ignatius lis-tened to the bloodcurdling little trebles and giggles and gloated in his dark lair.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
More positively, Ahmed assumes $200 million of costs will be removed by FY 2027 as WiseTech cuts a workforce that trebled in size over three years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
Many students were facing annual tuition fees that had trebled from the year before, as the cap on the amount universities could charge rose to £9,000.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
Voluntary repayments under Plan 2 more than trebled between 2017 and 2025, rising from £141.7m to £491.1m.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
Bat prices are said to have trebled following increased demand from countries in South Asia, with some top-end models costing close to £1,000.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026
The friends of officers and men said good-bye to them as if they were going to certain death, and insurance-offices doubled and trebled the premium upon their lives.
From March to Magdala by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty
Amsterdam, writes Mr. Mikhail, was “one of the most significant global metropolises” of the 17th century, its population trebling between 1585 and 1622.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
As the BBC showed earlier this year, there was indeed a significant increase over time, with public funding trebling in real terms, to pay for repairs to Buckingham Palace.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2025
In July 2022, there were 21,246 outdoor fires - nearly trebling the previous July's figure.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2023
A trebling of energy bills in 2022 has already led to concerns about the future of many leisure centres.
From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2023
People swarming in, cities doubling and trebling in numbers of inhabitants, while the fiscal guardians groan over the increasing weight of improvements and the need to care for a large new spate of indigents.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
