Holy Trinity

noun

1

: trinity sense 1

According to legend, St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Celts.

—Rosemary Ellen Guiley

2

or holy trinity

a

: a group of three things or people regarded as having fundamental importance or prominence in a particular place or area of interest or activity

By September, the region's famous foliage is emerging, the air is crisp, and it's prime time for the first two sports of the Woodstock Holy Trinity of fishing, biking, and skiing.

—National Geographic

I grew up in a town so white that our celebrity holy trinity consisted of Martha Stewart, Paul Newman, and Jason Robards.

—Robert Wilder

Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, the holy trinity of young ice-cream purists …

—Pierre Franey

… mocks the holy trinity of the art world—sex, drugs and pretension.

—Maria Simson

b

cooking : the combination of onion, bell pepper, and celery as it is employed in Cajun and Creole cuisine

Almost every traditional Cajun recipe calls for the merged flavors of the Holy Trinity to serve as its underpinning, rendering the three aromatic vegetables the most prized ingredients of all in New Orleans cookery.

—Lia Ryerson

Examples of Holy Trinity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Three Stooges, the Holy Trinity of slapstick, are in the pantheon of comedy teams. —Donald Liebenson, Vulture, 14 June 2024

Across most denominations and traditions, Christians believe in the Holy Spirit – part of the Holy Trinity, together with God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Son. —Dara Delgado, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2024

Peter and Paul, St. Elizabeth and St. Matthew, merged in 1994 to form Holy Trinity Parish. —Allison Kiehl, The Enquirer, 2 Aug. 2024

Clement Kern, a longtime Catholic priest at nearby Most Holy Trinity Church who was widely admired as a champion for the city's poor people before his death in 1983, at age 76, following a car accident. —Jc Reindl, Detroit Free Press, 31 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1