trilogy

noun

tril·​o·​gy ˈtri-lə-jē 

plural trilogies

: a series of three dramas or literary works or sometimes three musical compositions that are closely related and develop a single theme

Did you know?

Dozens of tragic trilogies were written for the Greek stage, though only one, Aeschylus's great Oresteia (consisting of Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, *and *The Eumenides), has survived complete. Authors in later years have occasionally chosen to create trilogies to allow themselves to develop a highly complex story or cover a long span of time. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings wasn't actually intended as a trilogy, but since it was published in three volumes it's usually called one. George Lucas's three original Star Wars movies are an example of a film trilogy (which he followed many years later by another).

Examples of trilogy in a Sentence

the last book in the trilogy

Recent Examples on the Web

His aesthetic speculations in the trilogy bring to mind books as extraordinary as Walter Pater’s The Renaissance and André Malraux’s The Voices of Silence and The Metamorphosis of the Gods. —Jed Perl, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026

Speaking to Screen Rant, Serkis said that the role played by Viggo Mortensen in the original trilogy will be recast. —James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 3 Apr. 2026

The film’s star and director Andy Serkis confirmed that the role, famously played on screen by Viggo Mortensen in Peter Jackson's LOTR trilogy, will be recast. —Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Apr. 2026

Shining in those shots was the ring that Phillips commissioned from Mayfair jeweler Pragnell—a trilogy with a large center diamond and two smaller side diamonds. —Giorgia Olivieri, Vanity Fair, 2 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Greek trilogia, from tri- + -logia -logy

First Known Use

circa 1661, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

trilogy

noun

tril·​o·​gy ˈtril-ə-jē 

plural trilogies

: a series of three literary, dramatic, or musical works that are closely related and develop a single theme