Meaning & use
third party
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person or company that is not one of the two main people or groups involved.
Grammar: Countable: a third party, the third party, several third parties. Often used in legal and business contexts.
Patterns
- a third party
- involve a third party
- by a third party
Any disagreement can be settled by an independent third party.
The two sides agreed not to discuss the deal with a third party.
A third party must sign the document as a witness.
nouncountablebusiness
A company or group other than the two main ones in a market or deal, especially in insurance or politics.
Grammar: Countable; often used before another noun in the hyphenated form 'third-party': third-party insurance, third-party seller.
Patterns
- third-party insurance
- a third-party seller
- third-party candidates
Third-party insurance covers damage you cause to other people's cars.
The app is sold by a third-party seller, not by the maker.
Third-party candidates rarely win national elections.
Word forms
| plural | third parties |
|---|
Common combinations
- third-party insurance
- He only has third-party insurance, so his own car is not covered.
- an independent third party
- An independent third party reviewed the accounts.
- a third-party seller
- The phone was bought from a third-party seller online.
- involve a third party
- Try to solve it yourselves before you involve a third party.
- third-party data
- The study used third-party data from several sources.
Synonyms and how they differ
- outsider
- An outsider is simply not part of a group; a third party is defined by not being one of the two main sides.
- intermediary
- An intermediary actively helps two sides communicate or trade, while a third party may be neutral or simply separate.
Commonly confused: third party or third world?
third party vs third world
'Third world' is an old-fashioned term for poorer countries; it has nothing to do with being a separate party in a deal.
Practice
Which sentence uses the noun form correctly?
Choose one answer.
As a noun, 'third party' is written as two words with 'a' before it. The hyphenated form 'third-party' is used before a noun, as in 'third-party insurance'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “third party”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.