three

Meanings

1. 1
   num

   A numerical value after two and before four. Represented in Arabic digits as 3; this many dots (•••).

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

2. 2
   noun

   The digit/figure 3.

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

3. 3
   noun

   Anything measuring three units, as length.

   Put all the threes in a separate container.

4. 4
   noun

   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.

5. 5
   noun

   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.

6. 6
   adj

   being one more than two

7. 7
   noun

   one of four playing cards in a deck having three pips

8. 8
   noun

   the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one

Etymology

From Middle English thre, threo, thrie, thri, from Old English þrī, from Proto-West Germanic *þrīʀ, from Proto-Germanic *þrīz, from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes. Doublet of tres and trey. Cognate with German drei, Albanian tre, Armenian երեք (erekʻ), Latin trēs, Latvian trīs, Lithuanian trỹs, Greek τρεῖς (treís), Old Church Slavonic трьѥ (trĭje), and others.