triumvirate

[ trahy-uhm-ver-it, -vuh-reyt ]
See synonyms for triumvirate on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Roman History. the office or magistracy of a triumvir.

  2. a government of three officers or magistrates functioning jointly.

  1. a coalition of three magistrates or rulers for joint administration.

  2. any association of three in office or authority.

  3. any group or set of three.

Origin of triumvirate

1
From the Latin word triumvirātus, dating back to 1575–85. See triumvir, -ate3

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use triumvirate in a sentence

  • The two triumvirates, created agreeably to this decree of the senate, enlisted free-born men throughout the country.

  • A translation from the French, the History of Triumvirates, was published a year after his decease.

    Thomas Otway | Thomas Otway
  • But, after all, what can poor popular Triumvirates and fallible august Senators do?

    The French Revolution | Thomas Carlyle

British Dictionary definitions for triumvirate

triumvirate

/ (traɪˈʌmvɪrɪt) /


noun
  1. (in ancient Rome)

    • a board of three officials jointly responsible for some task

    • the political alliance of Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey, formed in 60 bc (First Triumvirate)

    • the coalition and joint rule of the Roman Empire by Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian, begun in 43 bc (Second Triumvirate)

  2. any joint rule by three men

  1. any group of three men associated in some way

  2. the office of a triumvir

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012