triad

[ trahy-ad, -uhd ]
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noun
  1. a group of three, especially of three closely related persons or things.

  2. Chemistry.

    • an element, atom, or group having a valence of three.: Compare monad (def. 2), dyad (def. 3).

    • a group of three closely related compounds or elements, as isomers or halides.

  1. Music. a chord of three tones, especially one consisting of a given tone with its major or minor third and its perfect, augmented, or diminished fifth.

  2. Triad, Military. the three categories of delivery systems for strategic nuclear weapons, namely bombers, land-based missiles, and missile-firing submarines: The report says this missile is required in order to sustain an effective air leg of the Triad.

Origin of triad

1
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin triad- (stem of trias ), from Greek triás; see tri-, -ad1

Other words from triad

  • tri·ad·ic [trahy-ad-ik], /traɪˈæd ɪk/, adjective
  • tri·ad·ism, noun

Words Nearby triad

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use triad in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for triad (1 of 2)

triad

/ (ˈtraɪæd) /


noun
  1. a group of three; trio

  2. chem an atom, element, group, or ion that has a valency of three

  1. music a three-note chord consisting of a note and the third and fifth above it

  2. an aphoristic literary form used in medieval Welsh and Irish literature

  3. the US strategic nuclear force, consisting of intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and bombers

Origin of triad

1
C16: from Late Latin trias, from Greek; related to Greek treis three

Derived forms of triad

  • triadic, adjective
  • triadism, noun

British Dictionary definitions for Triad (2 of 2)

Triad

/ (ˈtraɪæd) /


noun
  1. any of several Chinese secret societies, esp one involved in criminal activities, such as drug trafficking

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