third

American  

[thurd] / θɜrd /

adjective

1. next after the second; being the ordinal number for three.

2. being one of three equal parts.

3. 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.

4. rated, graded, or ranked one level below the second.

   He's third engineer on the ship.

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noun

• thirds
  plural

1. a third part, especially of one (1/3).

2. the third member of a series.

3. Automotive. third gear.

   Don't try to start a car when it's in third.

4. 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.

5. Law. Usually thirds

   1. the third part of the personal property of a deceased husband, which in certain circumstances goes absolutely to the widow.

   2. a widow's dower.

6. Music.

   1. a tone on the third degree from a given tone (counted as the first).

   2. the interval between such tones.

   3. the harmonic combination of such tones.

7. Baseball. third base.

8. Commerce. Usually thirds. a product or goods below second quality.

adverb

1. in the third place; thirdly.

third British  

/ θɜːd /

adjective

1. 1. 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

   2. ( as noun )

      he arrives on the third

      the third got a prize

2. rated, graded, or ranked below the second level

3. denoting the third from lowest forward ratio of a gearbox in a motor vehicle

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noun

1. 1. one of three equal or nearly equal parts of an object, quantity, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a third part

2. the fraction equal to one divided by three ( 1/ 3 )

3. the forward ratio above second of a gearbox in a motor vehicle. In some vehicles it is the top gear

4. 1. the interval between one note and another three notes away from it counting inclusively along the diatonic scale

   2. one of two notes constituting such an interval in relation to the other See also interval major minor

5. Full term: third class honours degree. an honours degree of the third and usually the lowest class

6. (plural) goods of a standard lower than that of seconds

adverb

1. Also: thirdly. in the third place

1. Also: thirdly. as the third point: linking what follows with the previous statements as in a speech or argument

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• thirdly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• thirds
  plural

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

third thirds

A third project, still in the planning stages, will examine how red blood cells change shape when exposed to malaria infection.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

The meeting of water and plastic creates a third class of molecules called reactive oxygen species.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Last year, Reeves announced the government-backed expansion, saying "a third runway is badly needed", and the government could not "duck the decision any longer".

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

It was not known if the recordings were shared with a third party, notably in China, but the officer could not rule out the possibility.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

All through first and second grade, and part of third, I was in the lowest group.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

Bolstering the blondies’ trick-or-treat bona fides was the fact that, after sharing them with co-workers, some dropped by asking for seconds, thirds and fourths.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Two thirds of the population in North America and 45 percent in Europe were exposed to "poor" or "very poor" air quality.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

About two thirds were classified as "individual" events.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

If there are three or more candidates, a first-round win requires two thirds of the vote.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

To decide what position a chord is in, move the notes to make a stack of thirds and identify the root.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

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