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• third class
  third class

  noun

  the class, grade, or rank immediately below the second.
• third-class
  third-class

  adjective

  of the lowest or poorest class or quality; inferior.

third class

¹ American  

noun

• third classes
  plural

1. the class, grade, or rank immediately below the second.

2. the least costly class of accommodations on trains, in hotels, etc.

3. (in the U.S. Postal Service) the class of mail consisting of merchandise weighing up to 16 ounces, and written or printed material, as books, manuscripts, or circulars, not sealed against postal inspection.

4. the lowest of three honors degrees conferred by a British university.

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third-class ² American  

[thurd-klas, -klahs] / ˈθɜrdˈklæs, -ˈklɑs /

adjective

1. of the lowest or poorest class or quality; inferior.

2. least costly and luxurious.

   a third-class coach.

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adverb

1. by third-class mail or passenger accommodations.

   to travel third-class.

third class British  

noun

1. the class or grade next in value, quality, etc, to the second

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adjective

1. of the class or grade next in value, quality, etc, to the second

2. of or denoting the class of accommodation in a hotel, on a ship, etc, next in quality and price to the second: usually the cheapest

3. (in the US and Canada) of or relating to a class of mail consisting largely of unsealed printed matter

4. See third

adverb

1. by third-class mail, transport, etc

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• third classes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of third class¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Origin of third-class²

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

third class third-class

The wealthy first-class passengers were given silver service for their meals - but in third class, it was a different story.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2024

At the time he was serving as a Navy gunner’s mate third class aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma, a vessel doomed by plane-fired torpedoes that capsized it in minutes.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 24, 2023

“Some people had it ranked as the third class in the country and I think it’s showing,” Oats said.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 7, 2022

And Project Number One returns, with its third class, this time with the stylist and costume designer Hahnji Jang and the lighting designer Kate McGee.

From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2022

Elementary and middle schools could put the January through April-born students in one class, the May through August in another class, and those born in September through December in the third class.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

At Oxford, Auden, after considering a scientific career, reaffirmed his poetic vocation but graduated only with an unimpressive third-class degree.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

"We are being treated like third-class citizens," said 72-year-old Yiannis Dinas, a sheep breeder from the Greek region of Macedonia.

From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026

The delicate items inside have been preserved too, revealing details of the life of its owner - a third-class passenger called Marian Meanwell.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2024

In an overcrowded third-class compartment, a teenage soccer team on its way to a tournament belted out songs.

From New York Times ● Sep. 25, 2022

Along with a rush of other people, we squeezed onto the third-class coach.

From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan