THIRD

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does third mean? 

• THIRD (noun)
  The noun THIRD has 6 senses:

1. one of three equal parts of a divisible whole

2. the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed near the third of the bases in the infield (counting counterclockwise from home plate)

3. following the second position in an ordering or series

4. the musical interval between one note and another three notes away from it

5. the third from the lowest forward ratio gear in the gear box of a motor vehicle

6. the base that must be touched third by a base runner in baseball

  Familiarity information: THIRD used as a noun is common.

• THIRD (adjective)
  The adjective THIRD has 1 sense:

1. coming next after the second and just before the fourth in position

  Familiarity information: THIRD used as an adjective is very rare.

• THIRD (adverb)
  The adverb THIRD has 1 sense:

1. in the third place

  Familiarity information: THIRD used as an adverb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• THIRD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

One of three equal parts of a divisible whole

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

one-third; third; tierce

Context example:

it contains approximately a third of the minimum daily requirement

Hypernyms ("third" is a kind of...):

common fraction; simple fraction (the quotient of two integers)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed near the third of the bases in the infield (counting counterclockwise from home plate)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

third; third base

Context example:

he is playing third

Hypernyms ("third" is a kind of...):

position ((in team sports) the role assigned to an individual player)

Holonyms ("third" is a member of...):

baseball team (a team that plays baseball)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Following the second position in an ordering or series

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Context example:

he answered the first question willingly, the second reluctantly, and the third with resentment

Hypernyms ("third" is a kind of...):

rank (relative status)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The musical interval between one note and another three notes away from it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

a simple harmony written in major thirds

Hypernyms ("third" is a kind of...):

interval; musical interval (the difference in pitch between two notes)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The third from the lowest forward ratio gear in the gear box of a motor vehicle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

third; third gear

Context example:

you shouldn't try to start in third gear

Hypernyms ("third" is a kind of...):

gear; gear mechanism (a mechanism for transmitting motion for some specific purpose (as the steering gear of a vehicle))

Holonyms ("third" is a part of...):

auto; automobile; car; machine; motorcar (a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The base that must be touched third by a base runner in baseball

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

third; third base

Context example:

he was cut down on a close play at third

Hypernyms ("third" is a kind of...):

bag; base (a place that the runner must touch before scoring)

• THIRD (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Coming next after the second and just before the fourth in position

Synonyms:

3rd; tertiary; third

Similar:

ordinal (being or denoting a numerical order in a series)

• THIRD (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

In the third place

Synonyms:

third; thirdly

Context example:

third we must consider unemployment

 Context examples 

Third, the nutrients travel through the bloodstream to different parts of the body where they are used as "fuel" and for many other purposes.

(Nutrition, NCI Dictionary)

A translucent membrane present in the eye of some animals, also called the third eyelid.

(Nictitating Membrane, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

“There was a third enclosure?” asked Utterson.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The first two that he tried were not successes, but the third, Mr. Willoughby Smith, a very young man straight from the university, seems to have been just what his employer wanted.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Third, you wouldn't let us go at them upon the march.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

On the third day I was better; on the fourth, I could speak, move, rise in bed, and turn.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Additionally, the full moon of February 8 will light your third house of quick, close-by travel.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

A translucent membrane present in the eye of some animals, also called the third eye.

(Nictitating Membrane, NCI Thesaurus)

And third, he must act for the benefit of his race.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

There was also another reason: Renfield might not speak so freely before a third person as when he and I were alone.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)