/θɜːd/, /θɚd/, /θɪɹd/
OriginPIE word
*tréyes
From Middle English thirde, thridde, from Old English þridda, from Proto-Germanic *þridjô, from Pre-Germanic *tretyós, a remodeling of Proto-Indo-European *tr̥tyós.
- not-comparableThe ordinal form of the cardinal number three; Coming after the second.
“The third tree from the left is my favorite.”
“The second and third quarters of the shield are indecipherable on the stone but clearer in two other representations of the arms, a painted wooden funeral hatchment for Mary Davie[…]”
““Congress took the lead on putting the HBCU funding in those bills and passing them. The third COVID-19 bill, passed under President Biden, included as much funding for HBCUs as both of the first two ”
- countable, uncountableThe person or thing in the third position.
- countable, uncountableOne of three equal parts of a whole.
“He ate a third of the pie. Divided by two-thirds.”
“Around a third of both Black and White respondents said they believed the opposition Labour Party to be institutionally racist.”
“Despite these uncertainties, Clarke told MPs he was convinced of the need to order trains powered by batteries. He said: "We're calling for a 'no regrets' order of battery trains because we see them a”
- abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, uncountableEllipsis of third gear (of a gearbox).
- countable, uncountableAn interval consisting of the first and third notes in a scale.
- countable, uncountablethird base
“The play ended with Jones standing on third.”
- countable, uncountableA handicap of one stroke every third hole.
- countable, uncountableA third-class degree, awarded to the lowest achievers in an honours degree programme
- archaic, countable, uncountableOne sixtieth of a second, i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system.
“[…] thirds (sixtieths of seconds), fourths (sixtieths of thirds) and so on, but then it becomes very cumbersome.”
- informalTo agree with a proposition or statement after it has already been seconded.
- To divide into three equal parts.
Formsthirds(plural) · thirds(present, singular, third-person) · thirding(participle, present) · thirded(participle, past) · thirded(past)