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

With its premiere just two weeks away, Marvel Studios has dropped one last trailer for the limited series, VisionQuest, which will complete the trilogy begun with WandaVision and Agatha All Along. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 1 Oct. 2026

The book, the first in a trilogy, Maple Hills, spent 70 weeks atop the New York Times bestseller list. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026

Following his involvement with the trilogy, In 2024, it was reported that Watts, his production company Freshman Year and producer Dianne McGunigle had signed a first-look feature deal with Walt Disney Studios. — Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 27 Sep. 2026

The blockbuster trilogy of papers in the late 1990s showed that, mathematically, these two theoretical worlds (the AdS interior and the CFT surface) are the same. — Quanta Magazine, 25 Sep. 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