triple

play

verb tri·ple \ ˈtri-pəl \

Definition of triple

tripled; tripling play \-p(ə-)liŋ\

transitive verb

1 :to make three times as great or as many

2 a :to score (a base runner) by a triple

b :to bring about the scoring of (a run) by a triple

intransitive verb

1 :to become three times as great or as numerous

their profits tripled last year

2 :to make a triple in baseball

See triple defined for English-language learners

See triple defined for kids

Examples of triple in a Sentence

He tripled his winnings at the track.
The town's population has tripled in size.
He tripled to right field.

Recent Examples of triple from the Web

Still, the company’s share price has almost tripled since a low in February last year.

— tom redmond, Bloomberg.com, "How One Man Revolutionized the Modern Sushi Industry," 30 Aug. 2017
This Texas hotel started nearly tripling room prices ‘

— tom uhler, star-telegram, "It’s hard not to like this iconic Houston furniture owner," 29 Aug. 2017
Since 2013, the number of boot-camp schools in the United States has tripled to more than 90, and the number of graduates will reach nearly 23,000 in 2017, a 10-fold jump from 2013, according to Course Report, which tracks the industry.

— steve lohr, The Seattle Times, "As coding boot camps close, the field faces a reality check," 27 Aug. 2017
Attacks by people throwing acid at their victims has tripled in the last three years in Britain, stoking fears that almost anyone can be the victim -- from a moped rider to the city banker or politician.

— karla adam, Washington Post, "As Britain cracks down on weapons, criminals turn to acid attacks," 26 Aug. 2017
In February, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that the number of American hate groups more than tripled in 2016, to a total of 917.

— sarah harvard, Teen Vogue, "How Donald Trump’s Defense of White Supremacists Puts National Security at Risk," 24 Aug. 2017
Waubonsie Valley: The Warriors tripled their win total to 12 last year.

— matt le cren, Naperville Sun, "Naperville North soccer defender Mitch Konrad also is hooked on fishing," 22 Aug. 2017
Jackson County hopes to double or triple the number of inmates on house arrest as one way to compensate for a shortage of guards to adequately guard prisoners at the county detention center, officials said Monday.

— mike hendricks, kansascity, "More inmates put on house arrest could ease Jackson County jail staffing crisis," 14 Aug. 2017
But at some point, one group of titanosaurs—the lognkosaurs—became exceptionally huge, tripling their mass and reaching the 38-to-60-ton bracket.

— ed yong, The Atlantic, "Meet Patagotitan, the Biggest Dinosaur Ever Found," 8 Aug. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of triple

Middle English (Scots), from Late Latin triplare, from Latin triplus, adjective

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

triple

noun

Definition of triple

1 a :a triple sum, quantity, or number

b :a combination, group, or series of three

2 :a base hit that allows the batter to reach third base safely

3 :trifecta 2

See triple defined for English-language learners

Examples of triple in a Sentence

that triple of terrors for the wintertime driver: snow, ice, and sleet

Recent Examples of triple from the Web

Pythagorean triples are sets of numbers that correspond to the sides of right triangles.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Researchers Discover Babylonian Tablet Is Ancient Trig Table," 25 Aug. 2017
The New Yorker‘s Ryan Lizza got a rare triple-stack headline on his bombshell of a post Thursday chronicling a phone call from new White House press secretary Anthony Scaramucci that would be unbelievable if anything was unbelievable anymore.

— danielle tcholakian, Longreads, "A Close Reading of Ryan Lizza’s Phone Call from Anthony Scaramucci," 28 July 2017
Super batted .418 with 25 RBIs, eight doubles and five triples.

— david carrillo peñaloza, Daily Pilot, "CdM football team volunteers on skid row," 15 July 2017
That’s about 75 outs turned into singles, doubles, triples and ROE.

— vanityfair.com, "How the Media Let Itself Get Crushed by Facebook," 11 July 2017
Her career doubles, triples, RBIs and walks are top-10 records.

— britni de la cretaz, Teen Vogue, "How Jessica Mendoza Became ESPN's First Female MLB Analyst," 10 July 2017
LOW SINGLE-A FORT WAYNE (10-7, 36-51) Lansing 9, TinCaps 8: 1B Brad Zunica (.261) hit his 15th homer, DH G.K. Young (.254) went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and his seventh homer and CF Rod Boykin (.238) hit his sixth homer.

— jeff sanders, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Austin Allen, Storm beat up on Visalia," 9 July 2017
Tristan Graham belted a leadoff triple to deep right-center field in the second and Luke Ringhofer hit the next pitch into right field to give the 'Birds a 1-0 lead.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "IronBirds see seven-game win streak snapped in 5-3 loss to Lowell," 6 July 2017
For Nearly Neons, a base of organic castor seed oil is triple milled with a blend of iron oxides, food-grade pigments and D&C Colorants.

— sarah wu, Teen Vogue, "Bite Beauty Launches The Nearly Neon Collection," 5 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of triple

Middle English, from Latin triplus, adjective

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

triple Synonyms

Synonyms

triad, trifecta, trinity, trio, threesome, triplet, triumvirate

Related Words

trilogy, triptych; triple crown; triplicate; triplex

Other Baseball Terms

alley, cleanup, nightcap, safety, save, shag

triple

adjective

Definition of triple

1 :being three times as great or as many

2 :having or involving three units or members

triple bypass heart surgery

3 :having a threefold relation or character

worked as a double or even triple agent
—Time

4 a :three times repeated :treble

b :having three full revolutions

a triple somersault

a triple lutz

5 :marked by three beats per musical measure

triple meter

6 a :having units of three components

triple feet

b of rhyme :involving correspondence of three syllables (as in unfortunate-importunate)

See triple defined for English-language learners

Examples of triple in a Sentence

She got a new job with triple the salary of her old one.
He ordered a triple espresso.

Recent Examples of triple from the Web

The FCC imposed power backup requirements after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 knocked out more than 1,000 cell sites -- roughly triple the number of power failures seen with Harvey -- due partly to power blackouts.

— todd shields, Bloomberg.com, "Harvey Knockout of Cell Service Revives Talk of Backup Power," 30 Aug. 2017
The escondido ($9) bears a more complex profile, blending both tequila and mezcal with triple sec, a touch of agave, lime and a muddled orange.

— lindsey mcclave, The Courier-Journal, "El Mundo's 'controlled chaos' is worth the delicious wait | Review," 30 Aug. 2017
A major heatwave is hitting Los Angeles, with triple digit temps ahead.

— neal broverman, Los Angeles Magazine, "How to Cool Down a Hot Car in 90 Seconds," 29 Aug. 2017
T.J. Nichting followed a triple down the first base line, scoring both Carrillo and Moesquit.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "IronBirds let one slip away in loss to Connecticut," 29 Aug. 2017
The father, a triple-bypass heart patient, has lost 30 pounds in prison, and suffers shortness of breath, dizziness, confusion and hearing loss, Mr. Genser said.

— rick gladstone, New York Times, "Iran Upholds Convictions of Iranian-American Father and Son," 28 Aug. 2017
Triple Dual at Penn Penn 4, Chesterton 1 Singles: Matt Jewison (C) d. AJ Antonelli 3-6, 6-4, 10-7; Will Thurin (P) d. Chad Whelan 6-2, 6-4; Aiden Sucharetza (P) d. Nick Hanson 6-1, 6-1.

— Post-Tribune, "Post-Tribune Local Scoreboard for Monday, Aug. 28," 27 Aug. 2017
Senior Eric Esch and juniors Julian Cain and Harper Cole will give Westwood ample targets while operating the triple option.

— blake baumgartner, Naperville Sun, "Harvard recruit Derric Lee showed character playing hurt for Waubonsie," 17 Aug. 2017
Universal Standard has seen sales increases in the triple digits every quarter since launching in 2015.

— ashley c. ford, The Cut, "The Fashion Industry Can No Longer Afford to Ignore the Plus-Size Market," 7 Aug. 2017

Origin and Etymology of triple

Middle English, from Latin triplus, from tri- + -plus multiplied by — more at -fold

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

triple Synonyms

Synonyms

threefold, treble, triadic, tripartite, triplex

Related Words

triplicate

Other Number-Related Terms

jubilee, myriad, quarantine, score, twain

TRIPLE Defined for English Language Learners

triple

play

verb

Definition of triple for English Language Learners

: to cause (something) to become three times as great or as many
: to become three times as great or as many
baseball : to hit a triple : to hit the ball so that you can reach third base

triple

noun

Definition of triple for English Language Learners

baseball : a hit that allows the batter to reach third base

triple

adjective

Definition of triple for English Language Learners

: three times bigger in size or amount
: having three parts or including three people or things

TRIPLE Defined for Kids

triple

play

verb tri·ple \ ˈtri-pəl \

Definition of triple for Students

tripled; tripling

:to make or become three times as great or as many

I tripled my savings.

triple

noun

Definition of triple for Students

1 :a sum, amount, or number that is three times as great

2 :a combination, group, or series of three

3 :a hit in baseball that lets the batter reach third base

triple

adjective

Definition of triple for Students

1 :having three units or parts

2 :being three times as great or as many

3 :repeated three times

Learn More about triple

See words that rhyme with triple Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for triple Spanish Central: Translation of triple Nglish: Translation of triple for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of triple for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about triple

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triple

Definition of triple

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Origin and Etymology of triple

triple

Definition of triple

Examples of triple in a Sentence

Recent Examples of triple from the Web

Origin and Etymology of triple

triple Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Baseball Terms

triple

Definition of triple

Examples of triple in a Sentence

Recent Examples of triple from the Web

Origin and Etymology of triple

triple Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Number-Related Terms

TRIPLE Defined for English Language Learners

triple

Definition of triple for English Language Learners

triple

Definition of triple for English Language Learners

triple

Definition of triple for English Language Learners

TRIPLE Defined for Kids

triple

Definition of triple for Students

triple

Definition of triple for Students

triple

Definition of triple for Students

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