/ wɜːld; NAmE wɜːrld/ noun
THE EARTH / ITS PEOPLE
1.
the world [ sing. ] the earth, with all its countries, peoples and natural features :
to sail around the world
travelling (all over) the world
a map of the world
French is spoken in many parts of the world .
Which is the largest city in the world ?
He's the world's highest paid entertainer.
a meeting of world leaders
campaigning for world peace
2.
[ C , usually sing. ] a particular part of the earth; a particular group of countries or people; a particular period of history and the people of that period :
the Arab world
the English-speaking world
the industrialized and developing worlds
the ancient / modern world
—see also the First World , the New World , the Old World , the Third World
ANOTHER PLANET
3.
[ C ] a planet like the earth :
There may be other worlds out there.
TYPE OF LIFE
4.
[ C ] the people or things belonging to a particular group or connected with a particular interest, job, etc. :
the animal / plant / insect world
the world of fashion
stars from the sporting and artistic worlds
5.
[ usually sing. ] (usually used with an adjective) everything that exists of a particular kind; a particular kind of life or existence :
the natural world (= animals, plants, minerals, etc.)
They are a couple in the real world as well as in the movie.
The island is a world of brilliant colours and dramatic sunsets.
They had little contact with the outside world (= people and places that were not part of their normal life) .
PERSON'S LIFE
6.
[ sing. ] a person's environment, experiences, friends and family, etc. :
Parents are the most important people in a child's world.
When his wife died, his entire world was turned upside down.
SOCIETY
7.
[ sing. ] our society and the way people live and behave; the people in the world :
We live in a rapidly changing world.
He's too young to understand the ways of the world .
The whole world was waiting for news of the astronauts.
She felt that the world was against her.
The eyes of the world are on the President.
8.
the world [ sing. ] a way of life where possessions and physical pleasures are important, rather than spiritual values :
monks and nuns renouncing the world
—see also olde worlde , old-world
HUMAN EXISTENCE
9.
[ sing. ] the state of human existence :
this world and the next (= life on earth and existence after death)
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IDIOMS
- be all the world to sb
- the best of both / all possible worlds
- be worlds apart
- come / go down / up in the world
- come into the world
- do sb/sth the world of good
- for all the world as if / though ... | for all the world like sb/sth
- have the world at your feet
- how, why, etc. in the world
- in an ideal / a perfect world
- in the world
- (be / live) in a world of your own
- a man / woman of the world
- not for (all) the world
- the ... of this world
- out of this world
- see the world
- set / put the world to rights
- set the world on fire
- what is the world coming to?
- (all) the world and his wife
- a world away (from sth)
- the world is your oyster
- a / the world of difference
- the (whole) world over
—more at brave adjective , dead adjective , end noun , lost , promise verb , small adjective , top noun , watch verb , way noun , will noun , worst noun
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English w(e)oruld , from a Germanic compound meaning age of man; related to Dutch wereld and German Welt .