tripod

noun tri·pod \ ˈtrī-ˌpäd \

|Updated on: 5 Aug 2018

Definition of tripod

1 : a three-legged stand (as for a camera)

2 : a stool, table, or altar with three legs

3 : a vessel (such as a cauldron) resting on three legs

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tripod

or tripodal play \ˈtri-pə-dᵊl, ˈtrī-ˌpä-\ adjective

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Recent Examples of tripod from the Web

Eglet cited a document in the Dunbar case that said one assault-style rifle found in the room booked by his wife had a tripod and a telescopic sight and was pointed toward a window overlooking the Las Vegas Strip.

— ken ritter, Fox News, "Lawyers: 2014 arrest at Vegas hotel precursor to killings," 6 July 2018
The filter is shaped like a tripod with a net on top.

— Philly.com, "Medical mystery: An unexpected - and ironic - cause of chest pain," 24 June 2018
EARLY on the morning of July 6th reporters began to assemble their tripods outside Avenfield House, a posh apartment block on London’s Park Lane.

— The Economist, "The boss of Pakistan’s ruling party is sentenced to ten years in jail," 6 July 2018
The sleek rectangle has a white bezel to imitate an art frame, three slim legs styled like a tripod, and defaults to an artwork display when not in use.

— Sunset, "Your Next TV Could Double As Art," 22 Jan. 2018
Lucky enough to have a row to himself, Aryeh Nirenberg was able to set up his tripod and camera to film the lights at 35,000 feet.

— jenae sitzes, Country Living, "This Photographer Filmed the Northern Lights from a Plane and We Can't Stop Watching," 20 Jan. 2017
In every other scene, though, the lens is an utterly disinterested observer, the camera fixed atop a tripod, anchored and immobile.

— charles desmarais, San Francisco Chronicle, "Scenes of a privileged paradise that can never be in Ragnar Kjartansson’s ‘Western Culture’," 25 May 2018
Police found that Crane had filmed and photographed pornography, and had possibly been bludgeoned with a camera tripod.

— josh hafner, USA TODAY, "11 Hollywood deaths still shrouded in mystery," 19 Apr. 2018
Visitors stand under an enormous ring of steel tilted on a tripod.

— elisabetta povoledo, New York Times, "The Most Surprising Entry in Venice’s Architecture Biennale? The Vatican’s," 25 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of tripod

Middle English, from Latin tripod-, tripus, from Greek tripod-, tripous, from tripod-, tripous, adjective, three-footed, from tri- + pod-, pous foot — more at foot

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 3

See Words from the same year