third
Noun pluralthirds
Pluralthirds
Formsthirds, thirding, thirded
- 1Coming after the second; the ordinal form of the number three.
He sat in the third row of the theater.
The third attempt finally worked after two failures.
UsageUsually with the: the third time, but in third place. Written 3rd (not
incorrect: 3th).Note
The ordinal that the fraction, the gear, the base and the musical interval all count from.
- 2One of three equal parts into which a whole is divided.
He inherited a third of the family estate.
Roughly a third of the audience left before the encore.
UsageUsually a third of: a third of the cake. Two parts are two thirds or two-thirds.
- 3Used to introduce the point that follows a second one in a list or argument, or to say that someone finished behind only two others.
Third, the plan would cost far more than the city can afford.
The young skier came in third, less than a second behind the winner.
UsageTo list points, third and thirdly both work; in races and rankings use third: finished third.
Similarthirdly
- 4The person or thing occupying the third position in a sequence.
The third in line received the last available ticket.
As the third to speak, she summarized the earlier points.
UsageUse the third to + verb: the third to leave, the third to arrive. Also common: the third in line.
- 5In baseball, the base a runner reaches after first and second, before home.
The runner held at third, waiting for a hit to bring him in.
A double sent him all the way to third.
UsageOften omit base: on third, at third, to third, or steal third.
Note
Baseball talk drops the word base: a runner stands on third, holds at third, or reaches third. Third is the last of the bases a runner touches before home and sits at the far left corner of the infield, so a player there is one base from scoring.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Third is the last base a runner must touch before home. img.mlbstatic.com
- Third occupies the left corner of the infield in the conventional view from home plate, as inferred from the stated counterclockwise layout. en.wikipedia.org
- A runner at third has only home base remaining to reach to score. en.wikipedia.org
Less common meanings
- 6The third gear of a vehicle's gearbox, used between second and fourth.
She slipped the car into third on the open road.
On the steep, winding road, she dropped into third and let the engine do the work.
UsageWithout gear, after into or in: shift into third, drive in third.
- 7An interval made up of the first and third notes of a scale.
The violin part moves up a third before resolving.
She sang a third above the main tune throughout the chorus.
Note
Musicians measure intervals in scale steps, counting both ends, so a third spans three notes. Its two common sizes are major, at four semitones, and minor, at three. Stacked thirds build the common triads. To sing or play in thirds means two parts moving together, one a third above the other, and the plural is the usual way to describe that sound.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- Interval numbers count both endpoints, so a third spans three scale notes. odp.library.tamu.edu
- Major and minor are the two common sizes; augmented and diminished thirds also exist. viva.pressbooks.pub
- A major third spans four semitones and a minor third spans three. learnmusictheory.net
- Common triads can be built by stacking thirds. viva.pressbooks.pub
- Parts moving in parallel thirds remain a third apart. fittonmusic.com
- 8To express agreement with a proposal that has already been proposed and seconded.
When Dana seconded the idea of ordering takeout, Luis grinned and said he would third it.
I'll third that suggestion if it helps move things along.
UsageA joke on second: someone seconds an idea, and you say I'll third that.
Oppositeoppose
- 9A British honors degree of the lowest class, below a lower second.
He left university with a third in history.
He spent more time rowing than studying and graduated with a third in history.
UsageUsually get a third or graduate with a third in a subject.
- 10To divide something into three equal parts.
Similartrisect
- 11In golf, a handicap allowance of one stroke on every third hole.
Note
A golfer's way of describing a handicap as a fraction of the holes: the weaker player receives one stroke on every third hole, which evens out a match between players of different ability. A third is a smaller allowance than a half, which gives a stroke on every other hole. The word works as an ordinary noun in phrases such as give a third and play off a third.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- A third allows one stroke every third hole; a half allows one every other hole and is therefore a larger allowance. listings.lib.msu.edu
- Handicapping helps golfers of different abilities compete fairly. randa.org
- 12One sixtieth of a second, the next subdivision after the second in a sexagesimal system.
Similartierce
Note
Old astronomical arithmetic kept dividing by sixty: minutes, then seconds, then thirds, then fourths. John David North, in The Fontana History of Astronomy and Cosmology (1994), notes that the scheme "becomes very cumbersome" at that depth. Its synonym is tierce. In modern English, a third of a second means one part in three. Use this archaic unit only where the sexagesimal context is clear.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- Astronomical arithmetic used successive sexagesimal subdivisions called minutes, seconds, thirds and fourths. en.wikipedia.org
- John David North wrote The Fontana History of Astronomy and Cosmology, first published in 1994. openlibrary.org
- North describes continuing these subdivisions as becoming very cumbersome; the quoted wording is exact. en.wiktionary.org
- Tierce denotes the same sexagesimal unit: one sixtieth of a second. en.wiktionary.org
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English "thirde" (also "thridde"), from Old English "þridda," going back through Proto-Germanic "*þridjô" to Proto-Indo-European "*tr̥tyós," ultimately from the root "*tréyes."
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Third derives from Middle English thirde and thridde, from Old English þridda. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English þridda descends from reconstructed Proto-Germanic *þridjô. en.wiktionary.org
- Proto-Germanic *þridjô ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥tyós, an ordinal formation related to *tréyes. en.wiktionary.org