threefold
adjective, adverb, noun, verb
threefold is spelled T-H-R-E-E-F-O-L-D: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,145th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, threefold means “Three times as great” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in threefold?
| Letters | 9: T-H-R-E-E-F-O-L-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 42,145th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is threefold?
Threefold appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,145th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce threefold?
- US
Threefold has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-threefold.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of threefold
- three-fold
- 3-fold
- threefolds plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- threefolding participle, present
- threefolded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does threefold mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Three times as great.
- 2
Triple.
adverb
- 1
By a factor of three.
noun
- 1
An algebraic variety of dimension 3.
verb
- 1
To make threefold; to triple.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Threefold in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | trois fois plus grand , triple , triplement |
| Spanish | triple , por triplicado |
| German | dreifach |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does threefold come from?
From Middle English threfold, from Old English þrīfeald. Equivalent to three + -fold.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).