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In the title compound, C18H12Cl3OP, the P-O bond distance is 1.483 (3) Å and the mean C-Cl distance is 1.741 (4) Å. Two sets of significantly different P-C-C bond angles are observed: 115.8 (3) and 124.3 (3)°. However, the mean O-P-C bond angle [112.0 (1)°] indicates near-ideal tetrahedral coordination at the P atom. The presence of bulky chloro substituents manifests in different orientations of the phenyl rings.