Triple means three times as much or three times as many. If you triple your savings, you multiply the amount by three: ten dollars becomes thirty dollars. If a recipe calls for two eggs but you triple it, you'll need six eggs. The word can be a verb (to triple), an adjective (a triple scoop of ice cream), or a noun (hitting a triple in baseball).

In baseball, a triple is an exciting play where the batter hits the ball and runs safely to third base without stopping. It's rarer than a single or double because the ball has to travel far enough, and the runner has to be fast enough, to reach third base before being tagged out.

You'll also hear triple in phrases like triple threat (someone talented in three different ways) or triple-digit (a number with three digits, like 100 or 574). When something triples in size or value, it grows enormously. A scientist might report that a bacterial population tripled overnight, meaning what started as 1,000 bacteria became 3,000.