Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A system of betting in which the bettor must pick the first three winners in the correct sequence. Also called triple.
Wiktionary
- n. US, Australia, New Zealand A bet in which the bettor must select the first three placegetters of a race in the order in which they finish.
- n. US, Australia, New Zealand The attainment of three important achievements, qualities, etc.
- n. US, by extension A set of three related things, often things that cause problems.
Etymologies
- From tri- + (per)fecta. (Wiktionary)
- tri- + (per)fecta. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Recently, Scott Diamond, ride coordinator for the Morris Area Freewheelers, a New Jersey cycling club, saw what he called a trifecta of irresponsible cycling: "A guy riding his bike without a helmet, talking on his cellphone, with his kid in the bike attachment behind him.”
Erik Lundegaard: Motorists vs. Cyclists: How The New York Times Ain't Helping
“So this was the most predictable of what they call the trifecta, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida.”
“BLITZER: Mr. Shrum, a lot of people are looking at the Electoral College map, and they are saying that Al Gore, in order to win the Electoral College and the presidency, will need what they describe as a trifecta: Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan.”
CNN Transcript - CNN Late Edition: Campaign 2000 Heads into the Homestretch - November 6, 2000
“Now, the Crimson Tide is trying for a title trifecta: state, SEC and national.”
“We're here at the MIT Business in Gaming conference this afternoon to watch Ken Levine - who holds the title trifecta of "co-founder," president "and" Creative Director "at 2K Boston (née”
“And so the trifecta is complete: the Masons, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Republican Party.”
'Party Loyalty Oath' would prevent Republicans from backing Crist
“Another good trifecta is .223,. 30-06 or .308, and .375.”
“Key Lucky first and second in trifecta and superfecta bets, using American Lion, Dublin and Backtalk in the other positions.”
Analysis: Consistent colt Lookin At Lucky bred to go distance
“Let's hope that we do not see a long term trifecta, but I will not put it pass the current reality that this is a distinct possibility.”
“If either party can achieve what politicos call the "trifecta" -- control of the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature -- in a given state, it will be able to draw congressional districts within that state unencumbered by any need to compromise with the other party.”
The Huffington Post: Redistricting The Real Prize In Tuesday's Elections
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘trifecta’.
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Words you can't find on the Thesaurus
My favorite, hard-to-find words - these aren't crazy words you'd never find in the dictionary, but the best moderate words I can find.
Napery, Chafe, Machination, Sacrilege, Sacrament, Marmoreal, Cynosure, Beget, Consumerism, Juxtapose, Mantra, Hedonistic and 155 more...
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250 Further Spelling Words
Another compilation of spelling words suitable for intermediate to advanced spellers.
venturi, aesir, affenpinscher, rottweiler, amanuensis, balletomane, sangfroid, yukata, capriccio, cuisse, heriot, psaltery and 236 more...
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Life is rife .................
-ife- & -iferous : common and not-so-common words about life
fructiferous, ifere, glomuliferous, graniferous, guttiferales, lifen, manifest, nimbiferous, oviferous, roriferous, petaliferous, rangifer and 105 more...
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tri-
three; three parts
tripod, trident, tricycle, triceratops, triad, trialogue, triangle, triannual, triarchy, triumverate, triathalone, triceps and 13 more...
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Words For Novel
viridity, effigy, paragon, congested, acrid, lilting, clandestine, plethora, accolade, sardonic, naïve, reckoning and 285 more...
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gcherches's Words
serendipity, roadrunner, inner child, coagulant, esquire, vicissitude, idiot savant, mitigation, affirmation, affirmative, diatribe, affirmative action and 185 more...
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cxfx's list
callipygous, scaphism, ubermorgen, handschuhschneeba..., farctate, autohagiography, autolatry, spindrift, feculent, verisimilitude, brobdingnagian, ineluctable and 205 more...
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kmalladi's favorites
edification, penchant, ablution, extricate, frank, triumvirate, trifecta, egregious, hoi polloi, articulate, antediluvian, brusque and 291 more...
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Dain's Words
rabble, terminus, archaic, atavism, demiurge, waylay, syzygy, jocoserious, quark, entropy, cinnabar, shamble and 912 more...
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sionnach's Words
contumely, fomite, holmgang, poltroon, eleemosynary, obsidian, nugatory, grindcore, felch, recrudescent, pyx, parenteral and 3271 more...
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Tamara's Words
ennui, je ne sais quoi, libertine, dilettante, raconteur, awry, nerdy, ridiculousness, cinnamon, snarky, somnambulist, truthiness and 101 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, T
torquate, thalassocracy, toothsome, travois, tempestuous, tone, tincture, tripwire, tether, trill, tenacious, travesty and 355 more...
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words to know
proselytising, proprioception, qualia, indelibly, eristic, mellifluous, perspicacious, concilience, inure, tendentiousness, topos, parochial and 118 more...
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Nullologue
nullologue, vaudeville, debauchery, debauched, libertine, nothing, dhadak, tz pf, nothingology, goodbyeology, sharmuta, manifesto and 874 more...
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Verbalitis
syncretic
anecdotal, phthisis, serendipitous, slapper, syncretic, sesquipedalian, hysteresis, polt, noyade, crocket, irenic, masquerade and 281 more...
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Idioms or Phrases or "expressions"
like nobody's bui..., soap up, plug away, country club, horse whisperer, cease and desist, eye of the beholder, small-claims court, nut job, heebie-jeebies, hole in the wall, black-tie and 101 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for trifecta.
chained_bear Reminds me of Lewis Black. Oct 22, 2008