Word.ws English Dictionary

tri-

/tɹaɪ/

tri- prefix: three.

Prefix (1)

tri-

  1. Three.
    Synonyms:
    ter-
  2. Used for the digit three to form systematic element names of elements whose existence has been predicted, and which have not yet been given a trivial name.
    • un- (“1”) + bi- (“2”) + tri- (“3”) + -ium (element suffix) → unbitrium (“element 123”)

Prefix (2)

tri-

  1. Used in combination with a known element name (e.g. 'tri-silicon', 'tri-lead') to designate an unknown element that would reside three periods lower than the known element on a Mendeleev-type periodic table. See Mendeleev's predicted elements.

tri- meaning in Arabic

tri- in Arabic

three
ثُلَاثِيّ ṯulāṯiyy

Synonyms of tri-

Origin of tri-

PIE word *tréyes From Latin tri- (“three”) and Ancient Greek τρι- (tri-, “three”).

From Sanskrit त्रि (tri, “three”).

Questions about tri-

What does tri- mean?
Tri- means three.
What is tri- in Arabic?
Tri- in Arabic is ثُلَاثِيّ (ṯulāṯiyy). See Tri- meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is tri-?
Tri- is a prefix.
How do you pronounce tri-?
Tri- is pronounced /tɹaɪ/.

Words near tri- in the dictionary

  1. Trgl.
  2. TRH
  3. tri
  4. Tri Delt
  5. Tri Delts
  6. tri-
  7. tri-annual
  8. tri-armed
  9. tri-axial
  10. tri-band
  11. tri-camera photography

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tri- (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-tri-.wav.

Cite this entry: “tri-.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tri-. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.