tripod

noun

tri·​pod ˈtrī-ˌpäd 

1

: a three-legged stand (as for a camera)

2

: a stool, table, or altar with three legs

3

: a vessel (such as a cauldron) resting on three legs

tripod adjective

or tripodal

ˈtri-pə-dᵊl 

ˈtrī-ˌpä-

Examples of tripod in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, for the beginner or someone who just wants to set it up on a tripod and record a day in the park playing fetch with the dog, the price tag is definitely appealing. —David Szondy may 09, New Atlas, 9 May 2026

Top tips to photograph the moon Use a tripod to keep your camera as steady as possible. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 1 May 2026

Taking photos and developing them involved a big, bulky camera, a tripod, chemicals, a dark-room tent and cumbersome wet-plate apparatus. —Marcia Greenwood, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026

An iron pot that hangs from a tripod. —Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin tripod-, tripus, from Greek tripod-, tripous, from tripod-, tripous, adjective, three-footed, from tri- + pod-, pous foot — more at foot

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for tripod

• abroad
• applaud
• backboard
• ballade
• defraud
• ephod
• facade
• guffawed
• outlawed
• ramrod
• roughshod
• slipshod

Kids Definition

tripod

noun

tri·​pod ˈtrī-ˌpäd 

1

: something (as a container or stool) resting on three legs

2

: a three-legged stand (as for a camera)

Medical Definition

tripod

noun

tri·​pod ˈtrī-ˌpäd 

: a bone having three processes