trilogy

American  

[tril-uh-jee] / ˈtrɪl ə dʒi /

noun

• trilogies
  plural

1. a series or group of three plays, novels, operas, etc., that, although individually complete, are closely related in theme, sequence, or the like.

2. (in ancient Greek drama) a series of three complete and usually related tragedies performed at the festival of Dionysus and forming a tetralogy with the satyr play.

3. a group of three related things.

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trilogy British  

/ ˈtrɪlədʒɪ /

noun

1. a series of three related works, esp in literature, etc

2. (in ancient Greece) a series of three tragedies performed together at the Dionysian festivals

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• trilogies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of trilogy

From the Greek word trilogía, dating back to 1655–65. See tri-, -logy

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Explanation

If you’ve just started a trilogy of books, you’ll be reading for a while. A trilogy is something that has three parts, so you'll have three books to read. You can see the tri-, meaning "three," in trilogy. The word originates from the Greek word trilogia, meaning "series of three related tragedies performed at Athens at the festival of Dionysus." Today, you can use trilogy to describe three of anything, such as a trilogy of movies that has the same characters, settings, and themes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trilogy trilogies

After “X” and “Pearl” transformed the director’s muse, Mia Goth, into a star, the horror filmmaker re-created 1980s Los Angeles to complete his trilogy for A24.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026

CeraVe proclaimed itself the official moisturizer of Arrakis, the desert planet in the “Dune” trilogy that concludes next month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026

The movie will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, known for Prisoners, Sicario, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049 and the recent Dune trilogy starring Timothée Chalamet.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026

The Dark Star trilogy tells the same story from parallel perspectives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

“You haven’t seen the prequels or the original trilogy? The podrace? Young Luke? This is a travesty. We have to fix that.”

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

The AI illustration has pulled liberally from all three trilogies, placing the adult faces of Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher on the children.

From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2026

He wrote more than two dozen books, including Cold War spy trilogies and World War II nonfiction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

Sir Philip, author of the hugely popular novels about Lyra Silvertongue, the heroine of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust trilogies, thinks writers should be compensated.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2025

The core series of film trilogies center generations of Skywalkers and their legacies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2025

Here are trilogies and tragedies and millenniums, in ethics and religion and philosophy—but borne from perishing lips to perishing ears upon the perishing vehicle of a passing breath.

From Abraham Lincoln's Cardinal Traits; A Study in Ethics, with an Epilogue Addressed to Theologians by Clark S. Beardslee

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Related Words

• threesome
• triad
• troika

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