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
ABC News, 23 May 2026
The 38-year-old Frenchman scored a hat trick in his debut in February, and his new club then won the King’s Cup, a Saudi knockout tournament, before coming up just shy of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in the league championship race.
—Brett Knight, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
Freshman Isabella Sorbi led the way with a hat trick and an assist as Greater Lowell (9-6) clinched a state tournament berth with a 7-6 Commonwealth Athletic Conference win over Mystic Valley.
—Tyler McManus, Boston Herald, 19 May 2026
Mukhtar, the 2022 MLS MVP, became the seventh player in MLS history with at least five regular-season hat tricks.
—Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Hat trick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hat%20trick. Accessed 28 May. 2026.
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