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Meaning & use

world

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/wɜːld/
US/wɜːrld/

Meanings

  1. nounsingular

    The planet Earth, with all its countries, people and living things.

    Grammar: Usually with the: the world; no plural in this sense.

    Patterns

    • around the world
    • in the world

    She wants to travel around the world.

    Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

    People all over the world watched the final.

  2. nouncountable

    A particular area of activity or group of people with shared interests.

    Grammar: Often with a modifier: the art world, the business world.

    Patterns

    • the world of something

    He works in the world of fashion.

    The sports world was shocked by the news.

    Her book describes the world of the deaf.

  3. nouncountablefigurative

    A person's own life, experiences and surroundings, or a way of seeing things.

    Grammar: Often possessive: her world fell apart.

    Patterns

    • someone's world
    • in a world of one's own

    Becoming a parent changed his whole world.

    The child lives in a world of her own.

    Reading opened a new world to me.

  4. nouncountable

    A planet or place imagined as a place where life might exist.

    Grammar: Countable: other worlds, a new world.

    Patterns

    • life on other worlds

    Astronomers search for habitable worlds.

    The story is set on a distant world.

    The game lets you build your own world.

Word forms

pluralworlds

Common combinations

around the world
The song became popular around the world.
the whole world
The whole world seemed to be watching.
the real world
Students need experience of the real world.
a world of difference
A good teacher makes a world of difference.
world record
She broke the world record.
the business world
He is well known in the business world.

Synonyms and how they differ

globe
Globe emphasizes the round planet as a whole, often in set phrases.
earth
Earth names the planet itself, often in science or nature contexts.
realm
Realm is a formal word for a particular field or domain.
universe
Universe means everything that exists, far larger than the world.

Word family

worldly adjective
concerned with material life, or experienced in life
worldwide adjective
happening in all parts of the world
worldview noun
a person's overall outlook on life

Commonly confused: world or word?

world vs word

A word is a unit of language; the world is the planet. Their pronunciations and spellings are close.

Practice

She is a rising star in the ____ of classical music.

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