hat trick
noun
People
Did you know?
It may surprise some people to learn that the term "hat trick" as it relates to sports actually originated in British cricket. A bowler who retired three batsmen with three consecutive balls was entitled to a new hat at the expense of the club to commemorate this feat. Eventually, the phrase was applied to a single player scoring three goals in any goal sport and later to three victories or successes in sports as different as horse racing and golf. The phrase finally broadened to include a string of three important successes or achievements in any field.
Examples of hat trick in a Sentence
Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Mar. 2026
The 27-year-old Surridge, who scored a career-high 24 goals last season, has three career hat tricks and scored a club-record four goals in a 7-2 win over Chicago last season.
—ABC News, 21 Mar. 2026
So, this Delray Beach joint completes a 2026 hat trick with only 43 pieces of rodent regularity, 10 of which were in a storage room and 13 of which were under a chest freezer.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 2026
The epic seven-game series a year ago ended with Mikko Rantanen scoring a third-period hat trick against his former club, an ending that movie writers might struggle to script.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hat trick
Cite this Entry
“Hat trick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hat%20trick. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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