noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/ˈtɹ(a)ɪ.mɛs.tə(ɹ)/
UK:/tɹ(a)ɪˈmɛs.tə(ɹ)/
US:/ˈt(ʃ)ɹaɪ.mɛs.təɹ/
US:/t(ʃ)ɹaɪˈmɛs.təɹ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɛstə(ɹ)
CMU ARPABET:T R AY0 M EH1 S T ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A period of three months or about three months; (financial): quarter.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
She is in the second trimester of her first pregnancy.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
One of the terms of an academic year in those learning institutions that divide their teaching in three roughly equal terms, each about three months long. Compare semester.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
The school operates on a trimester schedule.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: trisem
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
one of three divisions of an academic year
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: school term, academic term, academic session, session
4
noun
Meaning 4
a period of three months; especially one of the three three-month periods into which human pregnancy is divided
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: time period, period of time, period
Narrower terms: first trimester, second trimester, third trimester
History
Etymology
PIE word *tréyes From French trimestre, from Latin trimestris (“of three months”), from trēs (“three”) + mensis (“month”).
Across languages
Translations
49 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
أُثْلُوث
(ʔuṯlūṯ)
— period of three months
Armenian:
եռամսյակ
(eṙamsyak)
— period of three months
Armenian:
քառորդ
(kʻaṙord)
— period of three months
Bulgarian:
тримесечие
(trimesečie)
— period of three months
Catalan:
trimestre
— period of three months
Chinese Mandarin:
三月期
(sānyuèqī)
— period of three months
Czech:
trimestr
— period of three months
Dutch:
kwartaal
— period of three months
Dutch:
trimester
— period of three months
Esperanto:
trimestro
— period of three months
Finnish:
kolmekuukautisjakso
— period of three months
Finnish:
kolmannes
— period of three months
French:
trimestre
— period of three months
Galician:
trimestre
— period of three months
German:
Trimester
— period of three months
Hungarian:
trimeszter
— period of three months
Indonesian:
trimester
— period of three months
Indonesian:
kuartal
— period of three months
Irish:
ráithe
— period of three months
Italian:
trimestre
— period of three months
Khmer:
ត្រីមាស
(trəymiəh)
— period of three months
Latin:
trimestris
— period of three months
Norwegian:
trimester
— period of three months
Polish:
trymestr
— period of three months
Portuguese:
trimestre
— period of three months
Romanian:
trimestru
— period of three months
Russian:
триме́стр
(triméstr)
— period of three months
Russian:
кварта́л
(kvartál)
— period of three months
Slovak:
trimester
— period of three months
Spanish:
trimestre
— period of three months
Turkish:
trimestır
— period of three months
Turkish:
çeyrekyıl
— period of three months
Arabic:
أُثْلُوث
(ʔuṯlūṯ)
— term of academic year
Armenian:
քառորդ
(kʻaṙord)
— term of academic year
Catalan:
trimestre
— term of academic year
Chinese Mandarin:
學期 /学期
(xuéqī)
— term of academic year
Dutch:
trimester
— term of academic year
Esperanto:
trimestro
— term of academic year
Finnish:
lukukausi
— term of academic year
Georgian:
ტრიმესტრი
(ṭrimesṭri)
— term of academic year
Hungarian:
trimeszter
— term of academic year
Japanese:
学期
(gakki)
— term of academic year
Polish:
trymestr
— term of academic year
Portuguese:
trimestre
— term of academic year
Romanian:
trimestru
— term of academic year
Russian:
триме́стр
(triméstr)
— term of academic year
Turkish:
trimestır
— term of academic year
Turkish:
çeyrekyıl
— term of academic year
Ukrainian:
триме́стр
(tryméstr)
— term of academic year
