[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/three.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / three

[← T](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/T/)

# three

«three» in Mova's school dictionary: **the number 3, one more than two** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

number (three, threes); noun (a three); ordinal third

### meaning for a pupil

1) Three is the number 3, one more than two. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#m1)

2) A three is the digit 3 or a card, die face or team with 3 on it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#m2)

3) A third is one of three equal parts. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#m3)

4) (casual) «Threesies», «three-peat» (US sport, winning three times) and «a three» (a basket worth 3 points) are slang. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#m4)

5) (casual) «Three's a crowd» means two friends want to be alone. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#m5)

6) (formal) Exams may write «thrice» (three times), «triple», «a triad» or «a trio», and numbers in words: «three hundred and three». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#m6)

### sense in the lessons

an amount told in words; «three times» is × 3; «third» is the place after second; a triangle has 3 sides; phrases: «three times as many», «three in a row», «three quarters», «the three Rs» (reading, writing, arithmetic); in casual talk «three's a crowd», «a three-pointer», «give me three secs»; in rough talk «I'll count to three, then you're in trouble» (a warning); in the exam voice «thrice», «treble», «a trio of», «a third part thereof»

### examples

- I put three spoons on the table. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#x1)
- Three friends share 9 grapes equally. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#x2)
- Ben is three years older than Tom. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#x3)
- A triangle has 3 sides and 3 corners. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#x4)
- Count in threes: 3, 6, 9, 12. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#x5)
- The baby is three years old. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#x6)
- Ready, steady, go on three! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#x7)
- Gimme three secs, I'm nearly done. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#x8)
- I'm counting to three, then you're in big trouble. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#x9)
- He sank a three and won the game. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#x10)
- A quantity is trebled and yields 27. Determine the original quantity. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#x11)
- A third of 12 is 4. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#x12)
- Three brothers are ploughing over there. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/#x13)

### note

A number word: read it as 3. Trap: «three times as many» is × 3, not + 3. «third» is the order word: the third girl, a third of a cake (÷ 3). «thrice», «treble» and «triple» all mean × 3. «three's a crowd» has no number meaning in a problem.

### In the corpora

- [The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze is the biggest power station in the world by power.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/379-china-s-great-rivers-the-finless-porpoise-the-lost-baiji-chinese-alligators-and-sturgeon/20/)
- [Big numbers often use commas to group digits in threes: 1,000 and 25,000.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/33-commas-lists-clauses-and-clarity/16/)
- [Threes are tricky; say how you feel before you start sulking.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/478-threes-a-crowd-and-the-friend-who-picks-someone-else/4/)
- [For the three and twentieth to Mahazioth, his sons and his brethren, twelve;](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/1CH.904/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «three» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/three/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.