triplicate

[ noun adjective trip-li-kit, -keyt; verb trip-li-keyt ]

noun

1. one of three identical items, especially copies of typewritten material.

verb (used with object)

, trip·li·cat·ed, trip·li·cat·ing.

1. to make threefold; triple.
2. to make in triplicate:

   to triplicate a report before releasing it.

adjective

1. produced in or consisting of three copies or parts; threefold; triple:

   triplicate contracts.

triplicate

adjective

1. triple

verb

1. to multiply or be multiplied by three

noun

1. 1. a group of three things
   2. one of such a group
2. in triplicate
   written out three times

Derived Forms

• ˌtripliˈcation, noun

Other Words From

• tripli·cation noun
• sub·tripli·cate adjective
• sub·tripli·cated adjective
• subtrip·li·cation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of triplicate¹

1400–50; late Middle English (adj.) < Latin triplicātus (past participle of triplicāre to triple), equivalent to triplic- (stem of triplex ) triplex + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of triplicate¹

C15: from Latin triplicāre to triple, from triplex

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in triplicate,
   1. in three identical copies:

      This letter should be done in triplicate.

   2. threefold:

      That goes for me, too, in triplicate.

Example Sentences

The numbers are protracted by Stroman’s strenuously energetic choreography, which seems to give every dance sequence the hard sell in triplicate.

From Los Angeles Times

In the valleys between Colombia’s triplicate Cordilleras, you could sip coffee among green hills in the department of Quindío and salsa dance in the lowland city of Cali.

From New York Times

"I filled-out paperwork by hand, in triplicate, that was then input into a computer by the bank clerks. And in the meantime the dot printers are whirring in the background," she says.

From BBC

“I think it’s more the mail-in ballots. You don’t know how much of those were duplicated, triplicated, the whole bit.”

From Washington Post

Ceremoniously, I roam slapping palms in triplicate — the crew’s handshake — with every single person in the room, save my cousin, a surprise guest who ain’t in the crew and gets a “What’s good, fam?”

From New York Times

Related Words

• threesome
• triad
• troika