First World

American  

noun

1. the major industrialized non-Communist nations, including those in Western Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan.

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Etymology

Origin of First World

First recorded in 1970–75

Compare meaning

How does first-world compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• First World vs. Third World

Example Sentences

“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

Related: I have a ‘mundane’ First World problem: Should I buy a $30,000 bracelet during a global pandemic?

From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026

Historians widely interpret such violence as a counterrevolutionary response to the strength of socialist and labor movements after the First World War.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

Just after the First World War, Lewis Terman, a young professor of psychology at Stanford University, met a remarkable boy named Henry Cowell.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell