threefold

adjective three·fold \ ˈthrē-ˌfōld , -ˈfōld \

Updated on: 2 Apr 2018

1 : having three parts or members : triple

a threefold purpose

2 : being three times as great or as many

a threefold increase

—

threefold

play \ˈthrē-ˈfōld\ adverb

See threefold defined for English-language learners

See threefold defined for kids

Examples of threefold in a Sentence

a threefold approach to solving the problem

Recent Examples of threefold from the Web

The figure marked a more than threefold increase compared to January, when the PAC received nearly $250,000 in donations, and was the fund's second-best month over the last year.

— lukas mikelionis, Fox News, "NRA's political fund sees donations spike in February after Florida shooting," 28 Mar. 2018
The law of threefold return is the karmic principle of magick: Whatever energy you direct will be returned to you with three times more power.

— aliza kelly faragher, Allure, "A Beginner's Guide to Casting Your Own Spells at Home," 26 Mar. 2018
The recent signing of this budget indicates that Scott gave his stamp of approval to a threefold increase in security funding from last year's allocation to insure that nonpublic school children at risk have a safe and secure education.

— sergio carmona, Jewish Journal, "South Florida Jewish schools grateful for increased security funding," 23 Mar. 2018
There are no up-to-date nationwide statistics, but in 2017, 33,165 people contacted the Furusato Kaiki Shien Centre, an NGO supporting people who want to move to rural areas—a more than threefold increase on 2013.

— The Economist, "Not all Japanese towns and villages are atrophying," 22 Mar. 2018
The Apergy transaction, announced in December, is set to be completed in May. Since Livingston took the top post, Dover quadrupled, outpacing the threefold gain in the S&P 500 Index.

— chicagotribune.com, "Manufacturer Dover Corp. names new CEO amid transition," 20 Mar. 2018
Nate Wardle, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, said Beaver County has seen a threefold increase in the number of new HIV diagnoses: from four in 2016 to 11 in 2017.

— susan scutti, CNN, "HIV rates rise in at least two US hot spots," 16 Mar. 2018
The Vatican hopes to step up its game against demon possessions with a week-long international conference in April to address a threefold increase in demand in Italy alone for the services of exorcists.

— doug stanglin, USA TODAY, "Demand for exorcisms is up threefold in Italy, so Vatican is holding conference," 23 Feb. 2018
Despite a threefold increase in aerial ordinance dropped on the Taliban in 2017, the insurgent group made considerable territorial gains and is now openly active in 70% of Afghanistan, according to a recent BBC study.

— joseph hincks, Time, "A Fresh Wave of Terrorist Attacks Has Rocked Afghanistan. Here's What to Know," 1 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'threefold.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.