In the title mol­ecule, C23H21NO, the piperidine ring adopts a chair conformation, with the N and carbonyl C atoms as flaps, which deviate on either side of the chair by −0.706 (3) and 0.494 (3) Å, respectively. All three phenyl rings are in equatorial positions on the piperidine ring, making angles with the puckering plane of 73.5 (1), 73.1 (1) and 67.2 (1)°. Though there is no classical hydrogen bonding, the crystal is stabilized by inter­molecular C—H⋯π contacts and π–π stacking inter­actions involving phenyl rings [centroid–centroid distance = 4.424 (2) Å].