tripod

noun tri·pod \ ˈtrī-ˌpäd \

Updated on: 16 Apr 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

Behind a tall tripod from which a dark lamp-bulb depended, a pale accordion gate, evidently for night hours, stood collapsed into irrelevance on the righthand side of the road.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "As Innocuous as Plant No. 1," 10 Apr. 2018
Recording devices were either a clunky camera and tripod set up facing the suspect or a tape recorder on the middle of a table that clicked off every half hour.

— krista torralva, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Noor Salman verdict reignites criticism of FBI's recording policy," 4 Apr. 2018
Using a tripod and setting his shutter speed at about 10 seconds, Heschong took photo after photo of trains traveling past him.

— anthony clark carpio, latimes.com, "Friends of the Burbank Library announces photo contest winners," 10 Mar. 2018
The researchers found that certain vibration spots routinely elicited the cylinder grip (or fist closing), the tripod grip (in which the thumb, index finger and middle finger come together) and the classic fine pinch of the thumb and pointer finger.

— melissa healy, latimes.com, "By vibrating the muscles, engineers produce a better prosthetic hand," 15 Mar. 2018
The MeFoto Air tripods are ultra lightweight and the Backpacker folds up Inspector Gadget-style to an extremely carry-on-friendly 10.4 inches.

— cnt editors, Condé Nast Traveler, "The Best Tech Gifts for Travelers," 9 Mar. 2018
The 8-by-10-inch view camera Ms. Mann used requires a tripod so, although many have the spontaneity of a snapshot, they were all modeled by her three children.

— william meyers, WSJ, "Seeing the South Through Sally Mann’s Lens," 5 Mar. 2018
Related: Supermoon, blood moon, blue moon: the phenomena that make up Wednesday's lunar event A tripod will be critical for blur-free photos.

— michel fortier, San Antonio Express-News, "Express-News photo editor explains how to photograph the super blue blood moon," 30 Jan. 2018
However, Brenner is frequently a solitary wanderer, working quickly with her camera and tripod to catch the best light, often early or late in the day.

— pam peirce, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘Private Gardens of the Bay Area’: A rare peek into private enclaves, spacious to small," 19 Jan. 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