a part of the earth that can be considered separately
"the outdoor world"
"the world of insects"
the concerns of this life as distinguished from heaven and the afterlife
"they consider the church to be independent of the world"
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
"all the world loves a lover"
"she always used `humankind' because `mankind' seemed to slight the women"
Human collective existence; existence in general.
"After years of feeling disconnected from society, she realized that her personal struggles were part of a larger human world shared by everyone else."
In plain English: The world is everything that exists, including all the places and people on Earth.
"The whole world cheered when they won the championship."
Usage: Use "world" to refer to humanity as a whole or the sum of all human affairs when discussing global issues or shared experience. It functions as a singular collective noun that typically takes a singular verb, such as "the world is changing."
To consider or cause to be considered from a global perspective; to consider as a global whole, rather than making or focussing on national or other distinctions; compare globalise.
"The new policy aims to treat the world as a single community by reducing trade barriers between nations."
In plain English: To world something means to make it into a globe or sphere shape.
"The new software will soon world your data across all connected devices."
Usage: The verb form of "world" meaning to view something globally is extremely rare and often confused with the noun; in everyday usage, you should generally avoid using it as a verb and instead choose clearer alternatives like "globalize," "internationalize," or "consider from a global perspective."
involving the entire earth; not limited or provincial in scope
"global war"
"global monetary policy"
"neither national nor continental but planetary"
"a world crisis"
"of worldwide significance"
The word "world" comes from the Old English weorold, which literally meant the "lifetime of man." It entered English as a native Germanic term that displaced the earlier non-native word mounde borrowed from French.