third party

American  

noun

1. any party to an incident, case, quarrel, etc., who is incidentally involved.

2. (in a two-party system) a political party formed as a dissenting or independent group from members of one or both of the two prevailing major parties.

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third party British  

noun

1. a person who is involved by chance or only incidentally in a legal proceeding, agreement, or other transaction, esp one against whom a defendant claims indemnity

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adjective

1. insurance providing protection against liability caused by accidental injury or death of other persons or damage to their property

   third-party insurance

Etymology

Origin of third party

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805

Example Sentences

But prices of those tokens cratered after people on social media pointed to guidance that OpenAI and Anthropic issued saying they wouldn’t honor stakes that had been transferred to a third party using an SPV.

From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026

There is unlikely to be a serious third party, much less a fourth or fifth.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026

Vodafone has indicated that the footfall technology was owned and managed by a third party company, which it says investigated issues raised.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

According to investigators, Mr. Evans bought the abortion pills from a third party.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

A man that thinks anything he dont understand all about must be crooked and that first chance he gets he’s morally bound to tell the third party what’s none of his business to tell.

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

Related Words

• mediator