trimeter

poetry

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 14, 2026

Quick Summary

In poetry, a trimeter refers to a line of verse that contains three metrical feet. A metrical foot is the basic unit of poetic meter, typically consisting of a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables.12

Common types of feet in English verse include:
* Iamb: An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (e.g., re-port).2
* Trochee: A stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable (e.g., dai-ly).2
* Anapest: Two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable (e.g., ser-e-nade).2
* Dactyl: A stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables (e.g., mer-ri-ly).2

A line with three iambic feet, for example, would be called iambic trimeter. While trimeter specifically denotes three feet, other terms like tetrameter (four feet), pentameter (five feet), and hexameter (six feet) describe lines with different numbers of metrical feet.32

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

5 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

prosody
Syllable-stress metres
…of two dimeter, of three trimeter, of five pentameter, of six hexameter, and of seven heptameter. Lines containing more than seven feet rarely occur in English poetry.
Read More
…of two dimeter, of three trimeter, of five pentameter, of six hexameter, and of seven heptameter. Lines containing more than seven feet rarely occur in English poetry.
Read More