third
Americanadjective
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next after the second; being the ordinal number for three.
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being one of three equal parts.
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Automotive. of, relating 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.
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rated, graded, or ranked one level below the second.
He's third engineer on the ship.
noun
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a third part, especially of one (1/3).
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the third member of a series.
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Automotive. third gear.
Don't try to start a car when it's in third.
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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.
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Law. Usually thirds
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the third part of the personal property of a deceased husband, which in certain circumstances goes absolutely to the widow.
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a widow's dower.
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Music.
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a tone on the third degree from a given tone (counted as the first).
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the interval between such tones.
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the harmonic combination of such tones.
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Baseball. third base.
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Commerce. Usually thirds. a product or goods below second quality.
adverb
adjective
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coming after the second and preceding the fourth in numbering or counting order, position, time, etc; being the ordinal number of three: often written 3rd
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( as noun )
he arrives on the third
the third got a prize
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rated, graded, or ranked below the second level
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denoting the third from lowest forward ratio of a gearbox in a motor vehicle
noun
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one of three equal or nearly equal parts of an object, quantity, etc
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( as modifier )
a third part
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the fraction equal to one divided by three ( 1/ 3 )
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the forward ratio above second of a gearbox in a motor vehicle. In some vehicles it is the top gear
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Full term: third class honours degree. an honours degree of the third and usually the lowest class
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(plural) goods of a standard lower than that of seconds
adverb
Other Word Forms
- thirdly adverb
Etymology
Origin of third
before 900; Middle English thirde, Old English (north) thirda, variant of thridda; cognate with Dutch derde, German dritte, Old Norse thrithi, Gothic thridja, Greek trítos, Latin tertius, Sanskrit tṛtīya. See three
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Gunners finished second last season for the third successive campaign, 36 points ahead of 17th-placed Spurs.
From BBC
Moreno had more success in the third round, but Kavanagh regained control with more thudding leg kicks, before seeing out victory by defending a number of takedowns.
From BBC
The Fijian winger crossed twice and created a third try as the rampant Rhinos led 28-0 at half-time.
From BBC
"We have to check the closure of airspace, whether we need to evacuate them to the third country first," he added.
From Barron's
The singer seemed overwhelmed as she made her third trip of the night to the podium.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
