Classical Mythology. a son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, represented as having the head and trunk of a man and the tail of a fish, and as using a conch-shell trumpet.
Astronomy. a moon of Neptune.
(lowercase) any of various marine gastropods of the family Cymatiidae, having a large, spiral, often beautifully colored shell.
(lowercase) the shell of a triton.
a sea god, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, depicted as having the upper parts of a man with a fish's tail and holding a trumpet made from a conch shell
one of a class of minor sea deities
1930–35; < Greek tríton, neuter of trítos third, equivalent to trí- tri- + -ton neuter adj. suffix; cf. -on 1
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The bird was either a yellow-crested or a triton cockatoo, she said, meaning it most likely came from northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, or islands off Indonesia.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2018
Ships teem around the Arsenale while a colossal triton rides a sea monster at the mouth of the Grand Canal – the real marries the fabulous as Venice is wedded to the sea.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 23, 2010
By relentlessly hunting for a rare trumpet-shaped mollusk called the giant triton, some scientists say, shell collectors have taken a devastating toll of one of the crown-of-thorns' few natural enemies.
From Time Magazine Archive
Five years afterwards, some fishermen near Cadiz found in their nets a triton, or sea man; they spoke to him in several languages—
From Nightmare Abbey by Peacock, Thomas Love
A large univalve, used as a horn by pilots, fishermen, &c., in fogs: a strombus, triton, or sometimes a murex.
From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Belcher, Edward, Sir
During this month, 10 flights were recorded, all by MQ-4C Triton drones used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
BBC Verify also examined US military aircraft activity near Cuba between 1 and 7 February, which saw only one P-8 fly in the vicinity of Cuba and no comparable MQ-4C Triton activity near the island.
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
It is listed on the Triton website as the Abyssal Explorer, an acrylic-hulled vessel than can reach depths of 13,000 feet, “the perfect submersible for repeated trips to the deep ocean.”
From New York Times ● May 28, 2024
“Because Blue Triton had a timely request for renewal of the permit, the current permit remains in effect… until the Forest renders a decision on their new request,” Bahena said in an email.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2024
A set of steps led down to the lawn on whose border Robbie still worked, and which extended to the Triton fountain fifty yards away.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
