1. Three goals scored by one player in one game, as in ice hockey.
2. Three wickets taken in cricket by a bowler in three consecutive balls.
3. Three consecutive wins or outstanding accomplishments by the same individual, such as a jockey in horse racing.

[From the hat with which the feat was traditionally rewarded in cricket.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.