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definitions

world

[wurld]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR world ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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RELATED WORDS

earth, nature, everyone, realm, race, group, province, life, business, area, system, field, star, universe, creation, sphere, macrocosm, cosmos, microcosm, division

Idioms

    bring into the world,
    1. to give birth to; bear: My grandmother brought nine children into the world.
    2. to deliver (a baby): the doctor brought many children into the world.
    come into the world, to be born: Her first child came into the world in June.
    for all the world,
    1. for any consideration, however great: She wouldn't come to visit us for all the world.
    2. in every respect; precisely: You look for all the world like my Aunt Mary.
    in the world,
    1. at all; ever: I never in the world would have believed such an obvious lie.
    2. from among all possibilities: Where in the world did you find that hat?
    on top of the world. top1(def 47).
    out of this/the world, exceptional; fine: The chef prepared a roast duck that was out of this world.
    set the world on fire, to achieve great fame and success: He didn't seem to be the type to set the world on fire.
    think the world of, to like or admire greatly: His coworkers think the world of him.
    world without end, for all eternity; for always.

Origin of world

before 900; Middle English; Old English world, weorold; cognate with Dutch wereld, German Welt, Old Norse verǫld, all < Germanic *wer-ald- literally, age of man
Related formscoun·ter·world, nounin·ter·world, noun

Synonyms for world

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR world ON THESAURUS.COM
1. See earth.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for world

Contemporary Examples of world

Historical Examples of world

  • I have sought for thee throughout the world, and at last I believed thee dead.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • You live for immortality in this world; I live for immortality in another.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • Paralus breathes and moves, but is apparently unconscious of existence in this world.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • All pursuits that serve to connect the soul with the world whence it came are rejected.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • A light not of this world is gleaming there; and it has grown brighter and clearer since we parted.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

British Dictionary definitions for world

world

noun

the earth as a planet, esp including its inhabitants
mankind; the human race
people generally; the publicin the eyes of the world
social or public lifeto go out into the world
the universe or cosmos; everything in existence
a complex united whole regarded as resembling the universe
any star or planet, esp one that might be inhabited
(often capital) a division or section of the earth, its history, or its inhabitantsthe Western World; the Ancient World; the Third World
an area, sphere, or realm considered as a complete environmentthe animal world
any field of human activity or way of life or those involved in itthe world of television
a period or state of existencethe next world
the total circumstances and experience of an individual that make up his life, esp that part of it relating to happinessyou have shattered my world
a large amount, number, or distanceworlds apart
worldly or secular life, ways, or people
logic See possible world
all the world and his wife a large group of people of various kinds
bring into the world
  1. (of a midwife, doctor, etc) to deliver (a baby)
  2. to give birth to
come into the world to be born
dead to the world informal unaware of one's surroundings, esp fast asleep or very drunk
for the world (used with a negative) for any inducement, however great
for all the world in every way; exactly
give to the world to publish
in the world (usually used with a negative) (intensifier)no-one in the world can change things
man of the world or woman of the world a man or woman experienced in social or public life
not long for this world nearing death
on top of the world informal exultant, elated, or very happy
informal wonderful; excellent
set the world on fire to be exceptionally or sensationally successful
the best of both worlds the benefits from two different or opposed ways of life, philosophies, etc
think the world of to be extremely fond of or hold in very high esteem
world of one's own a state of mental detachment from other people
world without end for ever
(modifier) of or concerning most or all countries; worldwideworld politics; a world record
(in combination) throughout the worldworld-famous

Word Origin for world

Old English w (e) orold, from wer man + ald age, life; related to Old Frisian warld, wrald, Old Norse verold, Old High German wealt (German Welt)

World

noun The World

a man-made archipelago of 300 reclaimed islands built off the coast of Dubai in the shape of a map of the world. Area: 63 sq km (24 sq miles)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for world
n.

Old English woruld, worold "human existence, the affairs of life," also "the human race, mankind," a word peculiar to Germanic languages (cf. Old Saxon werold, Old Frisian warld, Dutch wereld, Old Norse verold, Old High German weralt, German Welt), with a literal sense of "age of man," from Proto-Germanic *wer "man" (Old English wer, still in werewolf; see virile) + *ald "age" (see old).

Originally "life on earth, this world (as opposed to the afterlife)," sense extended to "the known world," then to "the physical world in the broadest sense, the universe" (c.1200). In Old English gospels, the commonest word for "the physical world," was Middangeard (Old Norse Midgard), literally "the middle enclosure" (cf. yard), which is rooted in Germanic cosmology. Greek kosmos in its ecclesiastical sense of "world of people" sometimes was rendered in Gothic as manaseþs, literally "seed of man."

The usual Old Norse word was heimr, literally "abode" (see home). Words for "world" in some other Indo-European languages derive from the root for "bottom, foundation" (e.g. Irish domun, Old Church Slavonic duno, related to English deep); the Lithuanian word is pasaulis, from pa- "under" + saule "sun." Original sense in world without end, translating Latin saecula saeculorum, and in worldly. Latin saeculum can mean both "age" and "world," as can Greek aion. World power in the geopolitical sense first recorded 1900. World-class is attested from 1950, originally of Olympic athletes.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with world

world

In addition to the idioms beginning with world

  • world is one's oyster, the
  • world of good, a

also see:

  • all over the place (world)
  • best of both worlds
  • bring into the world
  • come up (in the world)
  • dead to the world
  • for all the world
  • go out (of the world)
  • in one's own world
  • it's a small world
  • laugh and the world laughs with you
  • man of the world
  • move up (in the world)
  • not for all the tea in china (for the world)
  • on earth (in the world), what
  • on top of the world
  • out of this world
  • set the world on fire
  • think a lot (the world) of
  • third world
  • with the best will in the world
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.