trio

[ tree-oh ]

noun

, plural tri·os.

1. a musical composition for three voices or instruments.
2. a company of three singers or players.
3. any group of three persons or things.
4. a subordinate division of a minuet, scherzo, march, etc., usually in a contrasted key and style (perhaps originally written for three instruments or in three parts).

trio

/ ˈtriːəʊ /

noun

1. a group of three people or things
2. music
   1. a group of three singers or instrumentalists or a piece of music composed for such a group
   2. a subordinate section in a scherzo, minuet, etc, that is contrastive in style and often in a related key
3. piquet three cards of the same rank

Word History and Origins

Origin of trio¹

1715–25; < Italian, equivalent to tri- tri- + ( du ) o two

Word History and Origins

Origin of trio¹

C18: from Italian, ultimately from Latin trēs three; compare duo

Example Sentences

Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson are the creators of the BBC series “Blue Lights,” a procedural that follows a trio of recruits to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

From Los Angeles Times

Coulier, Stamos and late comedian Bob Saget played a trio of “Three Men and a Baby”-style dads and uncles in the ABC sitcom “Full House” and its Netflix revival, “Fuller House.”

From Los Angeles Times

He also formed a strong trio with Lineker and Richards, first on the BBC's Match of the Day podcast and latterly The Rest is Football - produced independently on Lineker's hugely successful Goalhanger podcast company.

From BBC

Called Sting 3.0, the trio’s tour draws on Sting’s decades of songs as a solo artist and as the frontman of the Police, the wildly popular three-piece he formed in London in 1977 after a stint teaching English.

From Los Angeles Times

And no one expected a trio at this point.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• threesome
• trilogy
• triumvirate