# third

Pronunciation: say "THURD" US /θɚd/, UK /θɜːd/

## Adjective

1. Coming after the second; the ordinal form of the number three.
   - Simple: Coming after the second in order or position.
   - _He sat in the third row of the theater._
   - _The third attempt finally worked after two failures._

## Noun

2. One of three equal parts into which a whole is divided.
   - Simple: One of three equal parts that make up a whole.
   - _He inherited a third of the family estate._
   - _Roughly a third of the audience left before the encore._
4. The person or thing occupying the third position in a sequence.
   - Simple: The person or thing that is third in order.
   - _The third in line received the last available ticket._
   - _As the third to speak, she summarized the earlier points._
5. In baseball, the base a runner reaches after first and second, before home.
   - Simple: The base a runner must touch before heading home to score.
   - _The runner held at third, waiting for a hit to bring him in._
   - _A double sent him all the way to third._
6. The third gear of a vehicle's gearbox, used between second and fourth.
   - Simple: The gear used after second, for medium speeds in a car.
   - _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._
7. An interval made up of the first and third notes of a scale.
   - Simple: A musical step between 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._
9. A British honors degree of the lowest class, below a lower second.
   - Simple: The lowest level of a British honors degree, below the second class.
   - _He left university with a third in history._
   - _He spent more time rowing than studying and graduated with a third in history._
11. In golf, a handicap allowance of one stroke on every third hole.
   - Simple: In golf, an extra stroke given on every third hole to even a match.

## Adverb

3. Used to introduce the point that follows a second one in a list or argument, or to say that someone finished behind only two others.
   - Simple: Used to bring in the third point in a list, or to say someone finished in third place.
   - _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._

## Verb

8. To express agreement with a proposal that has already been proposed and seconded. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To support an idea after two other people have already agreed to it.
   - _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._

## Verb

10. To divide something into three equal parts. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To split something into three equal parts.

## Noun

12. One sixtieth of a second, the next subdivision after the second in a sexagesimal system. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: An old unit of time equal to one sixtieth of a second.

## 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."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/third (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).