trifecta

Noun

trifecta (plural trifectas)

1. (Australia, New Zealand, US) A bet in which the bettor must select the first three placegetters of a race in the order in which they finish.
   • The conservative player will play the exacta box bet and the occasional trifecta box wager.2006, Vincent Conti, Thoroughbred Horse Racing Systems and Methodologies, page 9
   • In a trifecta, you must wager on three horses: the one that finishes first (win), the one that finishes second (place), and the one that finishes third (show) in order.2010, Leonard A. Asimow, Mark M. Maxwell, Probability and Statistics with Applications: A Problem Solving Text, page 10
2. (Australia, New Zealand, US, figuratively) The attainment of three important achievements, qualities, etc.
   • The money picture for Santorum could change after his trifecta win in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri Tuesday night.2012 February 8, Jackie Koszczuk, “Santorum Is Still Losing the Most Important Race: Money”, in The Atlantic
   • At the same time, he said, it could be that Mr. Netanyahu is “seeking a trifecta” with the strikes on Monday: pushing Hamas to give in, showing the Israeli public that he did hit Rafah as promised and getting credit from the Biden administration for not mounting the full-scale assault that...2024 May 7, Peter Baker, “Inside the White House Scramble to Broker a Deal in Gaza”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
3. (Australia, New Zealand, US, broadly) A set of three related things, often things that cause problems.
   • a trifecta of political losers
   • Along with runtime errors, two other errors we saw earlier round out the JavaScript bug trifecta: syntax errors, logic errors, and runtime errors.2007, Michael Morrison, Head First JavaScript, page 525
4. (Australia, New Zealand, US) The complete legislative and executive control of state or federal government by one party: governorship, the upper house, and the lower house of state or federal legislatures.
   • In fact, there are about a dozen states, including California, Massachusetts, Washington, and Illinois, where Democrats have won the trifecta—they control the governor's seat as well as both houses of the state legislature.2013 June 26, Steven Hill, “So the Voting Rights Act Is Gutted—What Can Protect Minority Voters Now?”, in The Atlantic
   • It’s not just Florida, of course. Republican trifectas in states across the country have introduced and passed dozens of bills aimed at the public existence of trans and other gender-nonconforming people.2023 December 12, Jamelle Bouie, “Red States and Blue States Are Becoming Different Countries”, in The New York Times, →ISSN