trilogy

noun

tril·​o·​gy ˈtri-lə-jē 

plural trilogies

: a series of three dramas or literary works or sometimes three musical compositions that are closely related and develop a single theme

Did you know?

Dozens of tragic trilogies were written for the Greek stage, though only one, Aeschylus's great Oresteia (consisting of Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, *and *The Eumenides), has survived complete. Authors in later years have occasionally chosen to create trilogies to allow themselves to develop a highly complex story or cover a long span of time. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings wasn't actually intended as a trilogy, but since it was published in three volumes it's usually called one. George Lucas's three original Star Wars movies are an example of a film trilogy (which he followed many years later by another).

Examples of trilogy in a Sentence

the last book in the trilogy

Recent Examples on the Web

Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and others may have received top billing in the Dark Knight trilogy of Batman movies, but one uncredited star of the films was its Batmobile, nicknamed the Tumbler. —Brett Berk, Architectural Digest, 30 Oct. 2024

Directors Brian Netto and Adam Schindler teamed up with legendary filmmaker Sam Raimi — best known for directing the Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire — to produce the twisted thriller. —Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 29 Oct. 2024

Venom: The Last Dance concludes the Venom trilogy with a deeply weird, goofy, gooey, and surprisingly poignant conclusion. —Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Oct. 2024

As the title implies, The Last Dance is supposedly the final film in the trilogy. —James Grebey, TIME, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Greek trilogia, from tri- + -logia -logy

First Known Use

circa 1661, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

trilogy

noun

tril·​o·​gy ˈtril-ə-jē 

plural trilogies

: a series of three literary, dramatic, or musical works that are closely related and develop a single theme