Definitions

1. noun

A group of three elements, such as three consecutive characters in a sequence, three numbers in a code, or three items in a set.

“The programmer used a trigram to verify the encryption key.”

2. noun

A unit of three strokes in an ideogram, especially in Chinese characters.

“The Chinese character for the word ‘family’ is a trigram.”

3. noun

A set of three syllables in a sequence of sounds, used in linguistics to analyze the structure of words.

“The phonologist studied the trigram in the word ‘universe’.”

4. noun

A set of three elements in a statistical or mathematical analysis, such as the first three digits of a sequence of numbers.

“The statistician used a trigram to analyze the pattern in the data.”