- third
- third [thʉrd]adj.[ME thirde, altered by metathesis < thridde < OE thridda < IE * tṛtiyo- (< base * trei-,THREE) > L tertius, Gr tritos]1. preceded by two others in a series; 3d or 3rd2. next below the second in rank, power, value, merit, excellence, etc.3. designating any of the three equal parts of somethingadv.in the third place, rank, group, etc.n.1. the one following the second2. any person, thing, class, place, etc. that is third3. any of the three equal parts of something; 1/ 34. the third forward gear of a transmission: it provides more speed but less torque than second5. Baseball short for THIRD BASE6. Musica) the third tone of an ascending diatonic scale, or a tone two degrees above or below any given tone in such a scale; mediantb) the interval between two such tones, or a combination of them
English World dictionary. V. Neufeldt. 2014.