trilogy

noun tril·o·gy \ ˈtri-lə-jē \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of trilogy

plural trilogies

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

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Examples of trilogy in a Sentence

the last book in the trilogy

Recent Examples of trilogy from the Web

That last sentence might turn out to be foreshadowing, considering that Abrams is in charge of the final movie in the trilogy.

— graeme mcmillan, WIRED, "Cantina Talk: The New Star Wars Trilogy Looks to the Past, Solo Looks to Denny's," 9 Apr. 2018
The film, a prequel to the original trilogy featuring young Han Solo and Chewbacca, debuts in theaters May 25, two days before the Walt Disney World after-hours event takes place.

— dewayne bevil, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Star Wars: Galactic Nights will have 'Solo' elements, Disney says," 4 Apr. 2018
Rebel Dawn, the last book in the trilogy, ends where Han's adventures start in A New Hope — in the Mos Eisley cantina, where Obi-Wan Kenobi hires him.

— eliza thompson, Cosmopolitan, "Wait, What Is This Other Star Wars Movie?," 9 Mar. 2018
Mark Hamill, who played the ionic Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy as well as the recent film The Last Jedi, received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday.

— emily price, Fortune, "Star Wars' Mark Hamill Gets a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame," 9 Mar. 2018
The first companion soundtrack in the trilogy, Fifty Shades of Grey, peaked at No. 2 on the chart in 2015.

— billboard staff, Billboard, "Stream The 'Fifty Shades Freed' Soundtrack," 9 Feb. 2018
The success of this trilogy begs the question: What is the draw of these movies?

— patrick cooley, cleveland.com, "'Fifty Shades Freed:' What is the appeal of these movies?," 9 Feb. 2018
The news is light on details, save an important detail: this trilogy will be helmed by current Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "Another Star Wars movie series is coming—from Game of Thrones‘ showrunners," 6 Feb. 2018
Dakota Johnson is back on the promo circuit for Fifty Shades Freed, the final film in the Fifty Shades trilogy.

— edward barsamian, Vogue, "Dakota Johnson Goes Moody-Romantic Ahead of the Fifty Shades Freed Premiere," 5 Feb. 2018

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

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).