third party

American  

noun

• third parties
  plural

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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• third parties
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of third party

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

third party

Garza said he feels no loyalty to either party and wishes there were a third party that showed it actually cared about Latinos and their interests.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 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

As part of the latest settlement, Bank of America agreed to work with a third party to identify past suspicious activity and undergo an independent review of its programs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

NHS England said depending on the circumstances of an adoption there may be a need to "protect from disclosure any information about a third party".

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

Any third party whom you might make their commander cannot immediately seize enough authority to harm you.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

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