# three

Pronunciation: say "THREE" /θɹiː/

## Numeral

1. The number after two and before four, written 3, or a quantity of that many.
   - Simple: The number after two and before four, written as 3, used to say how many.
   - _Three students volunteered to lead the morning session._
   - _The committee narrowed the candidates down to three finalists._

## Noun

2. The time of three o'clock, whether in the morning or the afternoon.
   - Simple: The hour of three o'clock, in the morning or the afternoon.
   - _The flight was delayed, so we didn't land until three._
   - _She wakes at three to start baking the day's bread._
3. Short for three-pointer: in basketball, a shot made from beyond the three-point line, worth three points. — Abbreviation of three-pointer.
   - Simple: Short for three-pointer: a basketball shot from beyond the three-point line, worth three points.
   - _The guard sank a three to tie the game._
   - _Down by two, the coach drew up a play for a three._
4. The written figure or digit 3, as it appears in print or handwriting.
   - Simple: The written symbol that stands for the number 3.
   - _The child practiced writing a neat three over and over._
   - _On the old sign, the three had nearly worn away._
5. A young child who has reached the age of three.
   - Simple: A child who is three years old.
   - _Our preschool puts the threes and fours together for music, and they all sing along._
   - _The daycare keeps the twos and threes in separate rooms._
6. The playing card marked with three pips of its suit.
   - Simple: A playing card that shows three marks of its suit.
   - _She led with the three of hearts._
   - _He kept the three back, hoping to pair it later._
7. Anything that measures three units, such as in length, weight, or size.
   - Simple: Something that measures three units in size or length.
   - _According to the new size chart, she's a three._
   - _Sort the screws by length and keep all the threes in the blue tray._

## Origin

'Three' comes from Middle English 'thre', from Old English 'þrī', from Proto-West Germanic '*þrīʀ' and Proto-Germanic '*þrīz', ultimately from Proto-Indo-European '*tréyes'. It is cognate with German 'drei', Latin 'trēs', Greek 'treís', and Lithuanian 'trỹs', among others.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/three (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).