three

alternative obsolete thre · alternative obsolete þree · alternative obsolete threy · alternative obsolete thrie · alternative pronunciation spelling free · alternative pronunciation spelling tree · alternative pronunciation spelling t'ree

1. A numerical value equal to 3; the number following two and preceding four.

   Venters began to count them—one—two—three—four—on up to sixteen.

   1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 8, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC

   5 more examples

   There is a soft-mat seat (which originally had a palm fiber underwebbing) supported by three curved transverse braces.

   1995, Nancy Berliner, Sarah Handler, Friends of the House, →ISBN, page 79

   Okay, on three, we open the door and jump on the rope. One, two… Wait, wait! Do we go on three? Or do we go on “go”? Three! Who said anything about “go”?

   2003 April 7, Michelle Lamoreaux, Robert Lamoreaux, “A Spy is Born Part II”, in Totally Spies!, season 2, episode 1, spoken by Clover (Jennifer Hale as Samantha “Sam” and Andrea Taylor), Marathon Media, via Teletoon

   Now we continue zooming-in in three different directions depending on the number of ones.

   2008 March 2, Tanya Khovanova, “Autobiographical Numbers”, in arXiv, page 2

   Why should she care? One…two… Do we shoot on three? Yes on three. Like one, two, three, shoot.

   2011 October 18, Paul Dini, Paul Crocker, Sefton Hill, Batman: Arkham City, spoken by Joker thugs, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, via Rocksteady Studios

   The beetles are named Binburrum articuno, Binburrum moltres and Binburrum zapdos after three rare Pokémon: Articuno, Moltres and Zapdos.

   2021 September 15, Hannah Ryan, “RuPaul has a new namesake – and it’s a fabulous, rainbow-colored fly”, in CNN

   Synonyms: leash, tether

2. Describing a set or group with three elements.

plural threes · alternative obsolete thre · alternative obsolete þree · alternative obsolete threy · alternative obsolete thrie · alternative pronunciation spelling free · alternative pronunciation spelling tree · alternative pronunciation spelling t'ree

1. The digit/figure 3.

   In our example, 1210 has 1 zero, 2 ones, 1 two and 0 threes.

   2008 March 2, Tanya Khovanova, “Autobiographical Numbers”, in arXiv, page 1

2. Anything measuring three units, as length.

   Put all the threes in a separate container.

3. A person who is three years old.

   All the threes will go in Mrs. Smith's class, while I'll take the fours and fives.

4. The playing card featuring three pips.
5. Three o'clock, either a.m. or p.m.

   It was a weary time. A carriage clock had been placed on the discoloured wooden mantelpiece, and slowly its hands crept on from one to two and from two to three.

   1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “In which Three Investigators Come across a Dark Soul”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019

6. abbreviationball gamesAbbreviation of three-pointer.