triple

American  

[trip-uhl] / ˈtrɪp əl /

adjective

1. threefold; consisting of three parts.

   a triple knot.

2. of three kinds; threefold in character or relationship.

3. three times as great.

4. International Law. tripartite.

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noun

triples plural

1. an amount, number, etc., three times as great as another.

2. a group, set, or series of three; something threefold; triad.

3. Also called three-base hit.  Baseball. a base hit that enables a batter to reach third base safely.

4. Bowling. three strikes in succession.

5. trifecta.

verb (used with object)

triples, present (3rd person singular) tripled, past participle, past tripling present participle

1. to make triple.

2. Baseball. to cause to come into home plate by a triple.

   to triple a runner home; to triple a run in.

verb (used without object)

triples, present (3rd person singular) tripled, past participle, past tripling present participle

1. to become triple.

2. Baseball. to make a triple.

triple British  

/ ˈtrɪpəl /

adjective

1. consisting of three parts; threefold

2. (of musical time or rhythm) having three beats in each bar

3. three times as great or as much

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noun

1. a threefold amount

2. a group of three

verb

1. to increase or become increased threefold; treble

Usage

What is a basic definition of triple? Triple describes something as being made of three parts or being three times as great. Triple also means a set of three. The word triple has several other senses as an adjective, noun, and verb. In any sense, the word triple always has to do with the number three. Triple often describes something that is made of three parts or contains three of something.

• Real-life examples: A triple-layer cake has three layers. A triple homicide involves the murder of three people. A triple-decker bus has three decks of seats. A cardplayer who has triple aces has three cards with aces on them.
• Used in a sentence: My famous triple-layer cake has two layers of chocolate cake and one layer of vanilla cake. 

Triple also often describes something that is three times as great as something else. For example, a couch that is triple the price of another couch costs three times as much.

• Used in a sentence: I sold my bike for $300, which is triple the $100 I paid for it.  

In this sense, triple is used as a verb to mean to multiply something by three. For example, if you triple 2, you get 6 because 2 x 3 = 6.

• Used in a sentence: I think I will triple the tablespoons of sugar in the next batch of lemonade from 2 tablespoons to 6. 

Triple is also a noun that means a set of three. The word triplet is also commonly used in this sense.

• Used in a sentence: The shirts were packaged together in triples of red, white, and blue.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• triply
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• triples
  plural

Participles

• tripling
  present
• tripled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• triple
  simple
• triples
  simple
• have tripled
  perfect
• has tripled
  perfect
• am tripling
  progressive
• are tripling
  progressive
• is tripling
  progressive
• have been tripling
  perfect progressive
• has been tripling
  perfect progressive

Past

• tripled
  simple
• had tripled
  perfect
• was tripling
  progressive
• were tripling
  progressive
• had been tripling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will triple
  simple
• will have tripled
  perfect
• will be tripling
  progressive
• will have been tripling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of triple

1325–75; Middle English (noun and v.) < Latin triplus (adj.), equivalent to tri- tri- + ( du ) plus duple

Explanation

Triple means to multiply by three. If you triple the number two, you get six, and six is the triple of the number two. In triple, you see tri which means three. You see this prefix in tricycle (three wheels), tripod (three legs), and triplet (three siblings born at the same time). To triple is to increase threefold, just as to double means to increase twofold, quadruple fourfold and quintuple fivefold. In each of these pairs, the former word is Latin based and the latter has Old English origins.

Example Sentences

Root made a career-best 262 while Brook went even further becoming the first England batter to score a triple century for 34 years, making 317 at nearly a run-a-ball.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2026

“You think that Alex Jones gorged himself on Whataburger? You’re saying five triple cheeseburgers and how many fry boxes?”

From Slate • Jul. 12, 2026

"Dangerous heat is expected to unfold through the weekend with triple digit highs and potential for daily maximum temperature records both days," the service's Weather Prediction Center said Saturday.

From Barron's • Jul. 11, 2026

“Obviously, doubly special because it’s during a World Cup and triple special because it’s here in the U.S. “As a group, with all our different backgrounds, it’s a true representation of what America is.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 4, 2026

I’m my own Aunt Matilda: when I was a kid I once dreamed of hitting a grand- slam home run and two days later I hit a bases- loaded triple.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Related Words

• threefold