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)
"he is playing third"
following the second position in an ordering or series
"a distant third"
"he answered the first question willingly, the second reluctantly, and the third with resentment"
the musical interval between one note and another three notes away from it
"a simple harmony written in major thirds"
the third from the lowest forward ratio gear in the gear box of a motor vehicle
"you shouldn't try to start in third gear"
the base that must be touched third by a base runner in baseball
"he was cut down on a close play at third"
The person or thing in the third position.
"She finished her race as the third competitor to cross the finish line."
In plain English: A third is one of three equal parts that make up a whole.
"She was born on the third of May."
To agree with a proposition or statement after it has already been seconded.
"During the meeting, Sarah thirded the motion to extend the deadline after Mike had already seconded it."
In plain English: To third means to tell another player on your team that you want them to take over defending an opponent instead of you.
"The third hit knocked the ball out of the park."
The ordinal form of the cardinal number three; Coming after the second.
"She finished in third place at the race, coming right behind the winners from both countries."
In plain English: Third means coming after two and before four in a sequence or order.
"She was the third person to arrive at the party."
Usage: Use "third" to describe items or positions that follow two others in an ordered sequence, such as the third chapter of a book. It functions identically to other ordinals like first and fourth when placed before nouns without requiring specific prepositions.
The word "third" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root meaning "three," which traveled through Old English and Middle English into modern usage. Its form was slightly reshaped during its early Germanic history before entering English to denote the ordinal number following two.