The countries of Africa, Asia, and South America are sometimes referred to all together as the Third World, especially those parts that are poor, do not have much power, and are not considered to be highly developed. Compare First World.
...development in the Third World.
...Third World debt.
Third World in British English
noun
the less economically advanced countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America collectively, esp when viewed as underdeveloped and as neutral in the East-West alignment
Also called: developing world, global south
Third World in American English
1.
those countries and territories, chiefly of Africa and Asia, once thought of as being outside the worlds, or spheres of influence, of the Western capitalist nations and the Soviet bloc
2.
the poor and economically underdeveloped countries of the world collectively
Word origin
tiers monde
third-world in American English
(ˈθɜrdˌwɜrld)
adjective
of or like the Third World; specif., economically underdeveloped, politically unstable, etc.
a third-world standard of living
Examples of 'Third World' in a sentence
Third World
His family was worth more than all but a few Third World nations.
Elizabeth Lowell PEARL COVE (2001)
In other languages
Third World
British English: Third World /θəːdˈwəːld/ NOUN
Some of the countries of Africa, Asia, and South America are sometimes referred to as the Third World. These countries are also sometimes referred to as the `developing world'.