Definition of 'third'
Word forms: plural thirds
4. countable noun [usually singular]
A third is the lowest honours degree that can be obtained from a British university.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
third
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
Word Frequency
third in British English
noun
4.
a.
one of three equal or nearly equal parts of an object, quantity, etc
b.
(as modifier)
a third part
5.
6.
the forward ratio above second of a gearbox in a motor vehicle. In some vehicles it
is the top gear
7.
a.
b.
one of two notes constituting such an interval in relation to the other
See also interval (sense 5), major (sense 15), minor (sense 4d)9. British
an honours degree of the third and usually the lowest class
Full term: third class honours degree10. (plural)
goods of a standard lower than that of seconds
adverb
11. Also: thirdly
in the third place
sentence connector
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
Old English thirda, variant of thridda; related to Old Frisian thredda, Old Saxon thriddio, Old High German drittio, Old Norse thrithi, Latin tertiusWord Frequency
third in American English
adjective
1.
preceded by two others in a series; 3d or 3rd
2.
3.
designating any of the three equal parts of something
adverb
4.
in the third place, rank, group, etc.
noun
5.
the one following the second
6.
any person, thing, class, place, etc. that is third
7.
any of the three equal parts of something; 1⁄3
8.
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
ME thirde, altered by metathesis < thridde < OE thridda < IE *tṛtiyo- (< base *trei-, three) > L tertius, Gr tritosWord Frequency
third in American English
(θɜːrd)
adjective
1.
next after the second; being the ordinal number for three
2.
being one of three equal parts
3. Automobiles
of, pertaining to, or operating at the gear transmission ratio at which the drive shaft speed is greater than that of second gear for a given engine crankshaft speed, but not as great as that of fourth gear, if such exists
third gear
4.
rated, graded, or ranked one level below the second
He's third engineer on the ship
noun
5.
a third part, esp. of one (1⁄3)
6.
the third member of a series
7. Automobiles
third gear
Don't try to start a car when it's in third
8.
a person or thing next after second in rank, precedence, order
The writer of the best essay will receive a gold medal, the second a silver, and the
third a bronze
9. (usually thirds) Law
a.
the third part of the personal property of a deceased husband, which in certain circumstances goes absolutely to the widow
b.
a widow's dower
10. Music
a.
a tone on the third degree from a given tone (counted as the first)
b.
the interval between such tones
c.
the harmonic combination of such tones
12. (usually thirds) Commerce
a product or goods below second quality
Compare first (sense 20), second1 (sense 23) adverb
13.
in the third place; thirdly
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
thirdly adverb
Word origin
[bef. 900; ME thirde, OE (north) thirda, var. of thridda; c. D derde, G dritte, ON thrithi, Goth thridja, Gk trítos, L tertius, Skt tṛtīya. See three]Examples of 'third' in a sentence
third
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In other languages
third
British English: third
/θɜːd/ ADJECTIVE
The third item in a series is the one that you count as number three.
The third door on the right.
- American English: third /θɜrd/
- Arabic: الثَّالِث
- Brazilian Portuguese: terceiro
- Chinese: 第三
- Croatian: treći
- Czech: třetí
- Danish: tredje
- Dutch: derde
- European Spanish: tercero
- Finnish: kolmas
- French: troisième
- German: dritter
- Greek: τρίτος
- Italian: terzo
- Japanese: 三番目の
- Korean: 세 번째의
- Norwegian: tredje
- Polish: trzeci
- European Portuguese: terceiro
- Romanian: al treilea
- Russian: третий
- Latin American Spanish: tercero
- Swedish: tredje
- Thai: ซึ่งเป็นลำดับที่สาม
- Turkish: üçüncü
- Ukrainian: третій
- Vietnamese: thứ ba thứ tự
British English: third
/θɜːd/ NOUN
A third is one of three equal parts of something.
A third of the cost went into technology and services.
- American English: third /ˈθɜrd/
- Arabic: ثُلْث
- Brazilian Portuguese: terceiro
- Chinese: 三分之一 fraction
- Croatian: trećina
- Czech: třetina
- Danish: tredjedel
- Dutch: derde
- European Spanish: tercio
- Finnish: kolmasosa
- French: tiers
- German: Dritter
- Greek: τρίτο
- Italian: terzo
- Japanese: 三番目
- Korean: 3분의 1
- Norwegian: tredjedel
- Polish: trzecia
- European Portuguese: terceiro
- Romanian: treime
- Russian: треть
- Latin American Spanish: tercio
- Swedish: tredjedel
- Thai: เศษหนึ่งส่วนสาม
- Turkish: üçüncü
- Ukrainian: третя частина
- Vietnamese: một phần ba
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