tri|plet /tr I plət/ (triplets ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Triplets are three children born at the same time to the same mother.
tri|pod /tra I pɒd/ (tripods ) N‑COUNT A tripod is a stand with three legs that is used to support something such as a camera or a telescope.
trip|per /tr I pə r / (trippers )
1 N‑COUNT A tripper is a person who is on a trip or on holiday. [mainly BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ …when the shops shut and the trippers go home.
2 → see also day-tripper
trip|tych /tr I pt I k/ (triptychs ) N‑COUNT A triptych is a painting or a carving on three panels that are usually joined together by hinges.
trip|wire /tr I pwa I ə r / (tripwires ) also trip wire N‑COUNT A tripwire is a wire stretched just above the ground, which sets off something such as a trap or an explosion if someone touches it.
trite /tra I t/ ADJ If you say that something such as an idea, remark, or story is trite , you mean that it is dull and boring because it has been said or told too many times. □ The movie is teeming with obvious and trite ideas.
tri|umph ◆◇◇ /tra I ʌmf/ (triumphs , triumphing , triumphed )
1 N‑VAR A triumph is a great success or achievement, often one that has been gained with a lot of skill or effort. □ [+ for ] The championships proved to be a personal triumph for the coach. □ [+ of ] Cataract operations are a triumph of modern surgery.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Triumph is a feeling of great satisfaction and pride resulting from a success or victory. □ Her sense of triumph was short-lived.
3 VERB If someone or something triumphs , they gain complete success, control, or victory, often after a long or difficult struggle. □ [V ] All her life, Kelly had stuck with difficult tasks and challenges, and triumphed. □ [V + over ] The whole world looked to her as a symbol of good triumphing over evil. SYNONYMS triumph NOUN 1
victory: Union leaders are heading for victory in their battle over workplace rights.
success: …the success of European business.
achievement: Reaching this agreement so quickly was a great achievement.
tri|um|phal /tra I ʌ mf ə l/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Triumphal is used to describe things that are done or made to celebrate a victory or great success. □ He made a triumphal entry into the city.
tri|um|phal|ism /tra I ʌ mfəl I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT People sometimes refer to behaviour which celebrates a great victory or success as triumphalism , especially when this behaviour is intended to upset the people they have defeated. [mainly BRIT , JOURNALISM ] □ There was a touch of triumphalism about the occasion.
tri|umph|al|ist /tra I ʌ mfəl I st/ ADJ [ADJ n] Triumphalist behaviour is behaviour in which politicians or organizations celebrate a victory or a great success, especially when this is intended to upset the people they have defeated. [mainly BRIT , JOURNALISM ] □ …a triumphalist celebration of their supremacy.
tri|um|phant /tra I ʌ mfənt/ ADJ Someone who is triumphant has gained a victory or succeeded in something and feels very happy about it. □ The captain's voice was triumphant. □ This trip was not like his first triumphant return home in 1990. ● tri|um|phant|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ They marched triumphantly into the capital.
tri|um|vi|rate /tra I ʌ mv I rət/ N‑SING [with sing or pl verb] A triumvirate is a group of three people who work together, especially when they are in charge of something. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] …the triumvirate of women who worked together on the TV dramatisation of the novel.
trivia /tr I viə/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Trivia is unimportant facts or details that are considered to be amusing rather than serious or useful. □ The two men chatted about such trivia as their favourite kinds of fast food.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] A trivia game or competition is one where the competitors are asked questions about interesting but unimportant facts in many subjects. □ …a pub trivia game.
triv|ial /tr I viəl/ ADJ If you describe something as trivial , you think that it is unimportant and not serious. □ The director tried to wave aside these issues as trivial details that could be settled later.
trivi|al|ity /tr I viæ l I ti/ (trivialities ) N‑VAR If you refer to something as a triviality , you think that it is unimportant and not serious. □ He accused me of making a great fuss about trivialities. □ Interviews with politicians were juxtaposed with news items of quite astonishing triviality.
trivi|al|ize /tr I viəla I z/ (trivializes , trivializing , trivialized ) in BRIT, also use trivialise VERB If you say that someone trivializes something important, you disapprove of them because they make it seem less important, serious, and complex than it is. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [V n] People continue to trivialize the world's environmental problems.
trod /trɒ d/ Trod is the past tense of tread .
trod|den /trɒ d ə n/ Trodden is the past participle of tread .
trog|lo|dyte /trɒ gləda I t/ (troglodytes )
1 N‑COUNT A troglodyte is someone who lives in a cave. [FORMAL ]
2 N‑COUNT If you refer to someone as a troglodyte , you mean that they are unsophisticated and do not know very much about anything. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ He dismissed advocates of a completely free market as economic troglodytes.
troi|ka /trɔ I kə/ (troikas ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] Journalists sometimes refer to a group of three powerful politicians or states as a troika . □ [+ of ] …leader of the troika of past, present and future presidents.