Dictionary Definition
triple adj
1 having three units or components or elements;
"a ternary operation"; "a treble row of red beads"; "overcrowding
made triple sessions necessary"; "triple time has three beats per
measure"; "triplex windows" [syn: ternary, treble, triplex]
2 three times as great or many; "a claim for
treble (or triple) damages"; "a threefold increase" [syn: treble, threefold]
Noun
1 a base hit at which the batter stops safely at
third base [syn: three-base
hit, three-bagger]
2 a quantity that is three times as great as
another
Verb
1 increase threefold; "Triple your income!" [syn:
treble]
2 hit a three-base hit
User Contributed Dictionary
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɪpəl
Adjective
- Made up of three related elements, often matching
- The triple markings on this vase are quite unique.
- Three times the quantity
- Give me a triple serving of mashed potatoes.
Translations
made up of three related elements
- French: triple
three times the quantity
- French: triple
Noun
- A drink with three
portions of alcohol.
- I've had a hard day, make that a triple.
- A hamburger with
three patties.
- I'd like a triple with cheese.
- A three-base hit
- The shortstop hit a triple to lead off the ninth.
- A takeout shot in which three stones are removed from play.
- A sequence of three elements; 3-tuple.
Translations
sequence of three elements
- Czech: trojice
Verb
- To multiply by three
- The company tripled their earnings per share over last quarter.
- To get a three-base hit
- The batter tripled into the gap.
Translations
to multiply by three
- Czech: ztrojnásobit
- French: tripler
French
Etymology
From triplus.Noun
fr-noun mItalian
Adjective
triple- Feminine plural form of triplo
Extensive Definition
In mathematics, a triple is an
n-tuple with n being 3. A
triple is a sequence of three elements. It is not a set of three
elements, as the ordering of the elements matters, and an element
can be present more than once in the same triple. Derived from this
abstract meaning it is used in several other contexts.
Triples in humor
A triple is a joke consisting of three statements
(also known as comedy threes). The first two statements are
similar, usually "straight lines", and establish a pattern which
the third statement does not follow. For example:
- John was a quiet gentleman who liked to work in the garden, read literary works, and devour kittens.
Obviously, the third violent activity does not
follow the first two benign ones. This may be found humorous. Other
examples include lists, of names for example, where the third is in
contrast with the previous two.
"It's one thing to see death coming at the hands
of your own creation. Oedipus and his father. Baron Frankenstein
and his monster. William Henry Gates and Windows '09." -- David Brin,
Kiln
People
Here is another typical example, by Woody Allen,
in Love and
Death:
"If only I could see a miracle, like a burning
bush, or the seas part, or my Uncle Sasha pick
up a check!"
An example from the Dick van
Dyke Show, with a coworker addressing his balding boss:
"Can I get you anything? Coffee? Doughnut?
Toupee?"
Similarly from
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Clark Griswold
addressing his unwanted guest/cousin Eddie:
"Can I get you something to drink? Refill your
eggnog? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for
dead?"
There are endless variations. Good ones can have
a joke within a joke, such as this exchange from All in
the Family where the subject of cities with the same names has
come up:
- Mike: "Portland, Oregon; Portland, Maine."
- Gloria: "Springfield, Illinois; Springfield, Massachusetts."
- Edith: "New York, New York!"
- Gloria: "Springfield, Illinois; Springfield, Massachusetts."
See also
Triples in music
In music
triple refers to triple meter
and triplets. See also
simple
meter and compound
meter (music).
Triples in RDF
In
RDF a triple is a subject-predicate-object expression.
Triples in sport
- A hat-trick is associated with succeeding at anything three times in one match or game or in consecutive attempts. For example in soccer or in ice hockey scoring three goals in one game.
- In athletics, triple jump is kind of a three-steps-long jump.
- In baseball, a triple is a three-base hit.
- In bowling, three strikes in a row, also known as a turkey.
- In figure skating, a triple jump is a jump with three revolutions.
- In Professional Wrestling, Paul Levesque is known as Triple H.
- In basketball, a triple is slang for a 3-pointer
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
accelerate, aggravate, beef up, blow up,
complicate, concentrate, condense, consolidate, cube, deepen, deltoid, double, enhance, exacerbate, exaggerate, fan-shaped, heat
up, heighten, hop up,
hot up, intensify,
jazz up, key up, magnify, make complex, multiply
by three, ramify,
redouble, reinforce, sharpen, soup up, step up,
strengthen, tern, ternal, ternary, ternate, three, three-in-one, three-ply,
threefold, threesome, treble, triadic, trial, triangular, trilogic, trinal, trine, trinity, trio, triplex, triplicate, triumvirate, triune, troika, whet