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etc): Noisy traffic threatens the peace of the village. | He's very unhappy about her promotion; he seems to feel that his own job is threatened. (=that he may lose it) [+to-v] The incident threatens to ruin his chances in the election. —ingly adv
three /θriː/ determiner, n, pron 1 (the number) 3 → see also two's company, three's a crowd (TWO); see TABLE 1; see also PACKET OF THREE 2 (yes, sir, yes sir) three bags full a phrase from the NURSERY RHYME (=an old song or poem for children) Baa, baa, black sheep. The phrase is often used humorously when saying that someone is giving you a lot of orders and expects you to obey them all without asking any questions.
Three Blind Mice a NURSERY RHYME (=an old song or poem for young children):
Three blind mice, three blind mice,
See how they run, see how they run!
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife.
Did you ever see such a thing in your life
As three blind mice?
three-cornered adj 1 having three corners 2 having three competitors, parties etc: The election was a three-cornered fight.
three-D, 3-D /θriː ˈdiː/ adj a three-D film or picture is made so that it appears to be three-dimensional —three-D n [U] a film in 3-D
three-day e'vent n especially BrE a horse-riding competition which lasts three days and includes DRESSAGE, CROSS-COUNTRY riding, and SHOW JUMPING
three-day 'week n a working week of three days instead of the usual five, caused by lack of work or other bad economic conditions
three-di'mensional adj 1 having or seeming to have length, depth, and height 2 described or shown in great depth or detail, so as to seem alive; LIFELIKE: The characters in his novels are always three-dimensional.
3G /θriː ˈdʒiː/ adj abbrev. for third generation; used to refer to an advanced technology used in MOBILE PHONES that allows people to do many more things than was previously possible with mobile phones. For example, they can receive information from the Internet and send and receive pictures and videos, as well as make phone calls. This technology is more advanced than the technology used on early mobile phones.
three-'halfpence also penny-halfpenny n [U] BrE ½d; (the value of) one and a half old pennies (PENNY)
three 'Kings, the → see THREE WISE MEN
three-'legged race n a race run by competitors in pairs, each pair having their inside legs tied together. These races are mainly run at young school children's sports days.
three-line 'whip n (in Britain) an order given by party leaders to Members of Parliament belonging to their party, telling them that they must vote in a particular way or be considered disloyal to their party
Three Little 'Pigs, The an old children's story about three little pigs, each of whom builds a house of a different material, which the BIG BAD WOLF tries to blow down, saying 'I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down'
Three Men in a 'Boat (1889) a humorous book by Jerome K. JEROME about three men and a dog who go on holiday and row a boat up the River Thames
Three Mile 'Island a place in Pennsylvania in the US, where there was a serious accident in 1979 in a NUCLEAR POWER station (=a place where electricity is produced using nuclear energy). The people in charge managed to prevent a MELTDOWN (=when the nuclear material melts and burns through its containers), but the accident increased opposition to nuclear power in the US and prevented new power stations from being built. A film about these events, called The China Syndrome, was made in 1980. → compare CHERNOBYL
Three Musketeers trademark (in the US) a type of CANDY BAR (=bar-shaped sweet) that has chocolate on the outside and inside
Three Musketeers, The (1844) a novel by Alexandre DUMAS, set in France in the 17th century, about three men called Porthos, Athos, and Aramis, who are members of a group of soldiers guarding Louis XIII, the king of France. They are very skilled at fighting with swords, and they have many exciting adventures with their friend D'ARTAGNAN, who comes to Paris from the country and joins the Musketeers when he shows them what a good fighter he is. They are remembered for saying 'All for one, and one for all', meaning that they will always support and protect one another. Many films and television programmes have been based on the story.
three-pence /'θrepəns, 'θrΛ-/ n BrE [U] 3d; (the value of) three old pennies (PENNY): It cost threepence.
three-pen·ny bit /'θrepəni 'bɪt, ˌθrΛ-/ a small round silver coin or a small 12-sided copper coin formerly used in Britain with a value of three old pennies (PENNY)
Threepenny 'Opera, The (1928) an OPERA with music by Kurt WEILL and words by Bertolt BRECHT, based on The BEGGAR'S OPERA (1728) by John GAY. One of its main characters is called Mac the Knife.
'three-piece adj [A] consisting of or made in three matching parts: a three-piece suit (=matching trousers, JACKET, and WAISTCOAT) | a three-piece suite (=two matching chairs and a SOFA)
'three-ply adj (of wool, wood etc) having three LAYERS, STRANDS etc to make one stronger piece of material
three-point 'turn n an operation for turning a vehicle in the opposite direction in a small space by going forwards, then backwards, then forwards again. The ability to perform this is part of the British driving test and some US state driving tests.
three-'quarter adj [A] consisting of three-fourths (¾) of the whole: a three-quarter length coat
three-ring 'circus n 1 a CIRCUS which has three areas of entertainment going on at the same time 2 AmE a very busy, confusing place: It was like a three-ring circus in there.
three R's, the /θriː ˈɑːrz/ [P] reading, writing, and ARITHMETIC (=working with numbers) considered as forming the base of children's education. The expression comes from the sound at the beginning of the words 'reading', 'writing', and '(a)rithmetic'.
three-score /'θri:skɔ:r/ determiner, n, pron lit. or poet 1 60 2 threescore years and ten phrase from the Bible 70 years, viewed as the average length of time a person is likely to live
three-some /'θri:səm/ n [C usually sing.] infml a group of three people or things, often as sexual partners
'three-star adj [A] of a good quality or standard (on a scale which has one-star as the lowest quality and five-star as the highest): a three-star hotel
Three 'Stooges, the three American COMEDIANS, named Curly, Larry, and Moe, who appeared in a television show in the 1950s. The Three Stooges did silly things, often blamed each other for mistakes, and often hit each other with different objects, such as FRYING PANS.
Three 'Tenors, the three OPERA singers, José CARRERAS, Placido DOMINGO, and Luciano PAVAROTTI, who are very popular TENORS (=men with high singing voices), and who have often appeared in concerts together and made records together
3.2 beer /θriː tuː ˈbɪər/ n [U] beer that contains no more than 3.2 per cent alcohol which is sold in some US states to people who are below the legal age for drinking alcohol, and is sometimes also made available to soldiers
three-'wheeler n a car with three wheels
Three Wise 'Men, the also the Three Kings, the Magi in the New Testament of the Bible, three kings or wise men who came from the East, guided by a star, and brought gifts of gold, FRANKINCENSE, and MYRRH for the baby Jesus → see also EPIPHANY, NATIVITY
Three Wise 'Monkeys, the three monkeys who are shown in pictures sitting in a row. The first has its hands covering its eyes, the second has its hands covering its ears, and the third has its hands covering its mouth. Together they represent the phrase 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil'.
thren-o-dy /'θrenədi/ n lit a funeral song for the dead
thresh /θreʃ/ v [I,T] to separate the grain from (corn, wheat, or