tripod

noun

tri·​pod ˈtrī-ˌpäd 

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

tripod adjective

or tripodal

ˈtri-pə-dᵊl 

ˈtrī-ˌpä-

Examples of tripod in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Other television outlets whose crews were present, according to signs on their tripods and cameras, were NewsNation, Newsmax, Right Side Broadcasting Network, One America News and LindellTV. — Jocelyn Noveck, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026

As if to prove the point, my wife and I arrived at the lake to find a very fit, very bronzed, nearly naked couple performing complicated yoga poses in front of an iPhone on a tripod, using the lake as their backdrop. — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026

The bottom of the jaw also has a screw mount for using a tripod. — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 13 Sep. 2026

The move by the shop owner launched a flurry of online discourse about the tripod-wielding gaggle of usually young, almost always female influencers who parade their phones around in the hopes of building, or nurturing, a gainful following. — Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 9 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for tripod

• abroad
• applaud
• backboard
• ballade
• defraud
• ephod
• facade
• guffawed
• outlawed
• ramrod
• roughshod
• slipshod

Kids Definition

tripod

noun

tri·​pod ˈtrī-ˌpäd 

1

: something (as a container or stool) resting on three legs

2

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

Medical Definition

tripod

noun

tri·​pod ˈtrī-ˌpäd 

: a bone having three processes