third world

third world  {n.}
1. The countries not aligned with either the former U.S.S.R.-dominated Communist bloc or the U.S.A.-dominated capitalist countries.
New Zealand made a move toward third country status when it disallowed American nuclear submarines in its harbors.
2. The developing nations of the world where the industrial revolution has not yet been completed.
Africa and the rest of the third world must be freed from starvation and illiteracy.
Categories: noun world