First World
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of First World
First recorded in 1970–75
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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.
“Cuba had a First World military in a Third World country,” Mora said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
There was a perceived superiority of the British Home Championship, fallouts over player payments, and a reluctance to play other European teams following the First World War.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
The region once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire but was ceded to Italy as part of a First World War settlement.
From Barron's • Feb. 2, 2026
As the poet William Butler Yeats observed after the end of the First World War, the center is not holding, while the best lack all conviction.
From Salon • Nov. 10, 2025
He remained the rabbi of his community throughout the years of Russia’s participation in the First World War.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
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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.