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In horse racing terminology, a trifecta is a parimutuel bet in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third in exact order. The word comes from the related betting term, "perfecta". A trifecta is known as a Tierce in Hong Kong.

The term has been extended to the realm of politics, where it is used to describe a situation in which an executive of government appoints another elected official to a position and is also allowed to appoint his successor. This process can be chained together; in other words, the executive can appoint an elected official to a position, appoint another elected official to the other's previous position, and finally appoint anyone to the second official's position. The first permutation of this chain is called a "quadfecta".

The trifecta system is seen by many as a loophole in democracy, because it allows an executive to essentially override a choice by the voters. This is mitigated by the fact that the system requires the agreement of all parties involved. Executives have been able to get around this by making the position offered a very financially lucrative or long term one

A trifecta may refer to any sequence of three (generally unfortunate) occurrences, drawing on the traditional belief that deaths (and presumably, disasters and other bad things) always come in groups of three.

"Trifecta" is slang for a three-point field goal in the game of basketball.

"Trifecta" as a slang term to describe any successful phenomenon that comes in threes, for example: "She has the 'trifecta' of attractiveness, intelligence, and career success."

"Trifecta" is a term in Limit Hold'em poker where a player checkraises on the flop, turn, and river.

• Hat-trick, succeeding at anything three times in three consecutive attempts

• Losing the "trifecta" President Bush's remarks on "Hitting a Trifecta" regarding spending from Social Security fund, deficit spending