trireme

noun

tri·​reme ˈtrī-ˌrēm 

: an ancient galley having three banks of oars

Examples of trireme in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The large stage in the center of the arena unfolds to become a trireme spurting fire from its gunwales. — Nat Segnit, Harpers Magazine, 21 Apr. 2026

The dhow is as distinctively Arabian as the trireme is Greek, or the junk Chinese. — Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 17 Mar. 2026

For more than 1,000 years, the dominant warship in the Mediterranean Sea was the trireme. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 31 Jan. 2023

The resulting coins were spent buying Macedonian pine to make oars to power the triremes, the most advanced naval fighting ships the world had yet seen. — Mark Munn, The Conversation, 17 Apr. 2020

In a little more than a month, the Athenians had assembled a fleet of triremes powerful enough to challenge the Spartan fleet and regain control of the sea. — Mark Munn, The Conversation, 17 Apr. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Latin triremis, from tri- + remus oar — more at row

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for trireme

• abeam
• airstream
• bloodstream
• daydream
• downstream
• esteem
• extreme
• grapheme
• hakim
• hornbeam
• lexeme
• mainstream