What does "world" mean?
The subjective human experience, regarded collectively; human collective existence; existence in general; the reality we live in.
World
/wɜːld/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The subjective human experience, regarded collectively; human collective existence; existence in general; the reality we live in.
- Grammar: world is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: domain, earth, humankind, abundance.
- Useful contrasts: heaven, holy, inexperienced.
- Usage evidence: Education in this world disappoints me.
How to use "world"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "world" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "world" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "world" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "world" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "world" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "domain" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "world", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The subjective human experience, regarded collectively; human collective existence; existence in general; the reality we live in.
"In retrospect, the process of economic globalization has meant the end of the world as we knew it."
- 2 all of the living human inhabitants of the earth wordnet
- 3 The subjective human experience, regarded individually.
"The period immediately following my divorce seemed like the end of my world."
- 4 the concerns of this life as distinguished from heaven and the afterlife wordnet
- 5 A majority of people. metonymically, with-definite-article
"Running after God is the only life worth living. Even though the world believes that living for God is boring, we believe that there is nothing more exciting."
Show 20 more definitions
- 6 all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you wordnet
- 7 The Universe.
- 8 people in general; especially a distinctive group of people with some shared interest wordnet
- 9 The Earth, especially in a geopolitical or cultural context, or as the physical planet. with-definite-article
"People are dying of starvation all over the world."
- 10 people in general considered as a whole wordnet
- 11 Any of several possible scenarios concerning The Earth, either as the physical planet, or in a geopolitical, cultural or societal context.
"Who would want to live in a world like this?"
- 12 everything that exists anywhere wordnet
- 13 (Several) alternative scenarios concerning The Earth, either as the physical planet, or in a geopolitical, cultural or societal context. countable
"the best of all possible worlds. In the French original: le meilleur des mondes possibles. In German: die beste aller möglichen Welten."
- 14 a part of the earth that can be considered separately wordnet
- 15 A planet, especially one which is inhabited or inhabitable. countable
"Our mission is to travel the galaxy and find new worlds."
- 16 A planet, especially one which is inhabited or inhabitable.; Any other astronomical body which may be inhabitable, such as a natural satellite. broadly, countable
- 17 A very large extent of country.
"the New World"
- 18 In various mythologies, cosmologies, etc., one of a number of separate realms or regions having different characteristics and occupied by different types of inhabitants.
"Frey [...] clambered up on to the Hildskjalf, the throne from which Odin could see everything that happened across the nine worlds."
- 19 A fictional realm, such as a planet, containing one or multiple societies of beings, especially intelligent ones.
"the world of Narnia"
- 20 An individual or group perspective or social setting.
"In the world of boxing, good diet is all-important."
- 21 The part of an operating system distributed with the kernel, consisting of the shell and other programs.
- 22 A subdivision of a game, consisting of a series of stages or levels that usually share a similar environment or theme.
"Have you reached the boss at the end of the ice world?"
- 23 The twenty-second trump or major arcana card of the tarot.
- 24 A great amount, a lot. informal
"Taking a break from work seems to have done her a world of good."
- 25 Age, era. archaic
"Thy kingdom is a kingdom of al worldes: and thy domnion in al generation and generation."
Verb
- 1 To consider or cause to be considered from a global perspective; to consider as a global whole, rather than making or focusing on national or other distinctions; compare globalize. transitive
"There are by now many feminisms (Tong, 1989; Humm, 1992). [...] They are in shifting alliance or contest with postmodern critiques, which at times seem to threaten the very category 'women' and its possibilities for a feminist politics. These debates inform this attempt at worlding women—moving beyond white western power centres and their dominant knowledges (compare Spivak, 1985), while recognising that I, as a white settler-state woman, need to attend to differences between women, too."
- 2 To make real; to make worldly. transitive
Adjective
- 1 involving the entire earth; not limited or provincial in scope wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Earth: the Earth (our earth).
- 2 The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; The Universe: our universe.
- 3 The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Existence.
- 4 The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The Third World (the third world).
- 5 The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The First World (the first world).
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The Second World (the second world).
- 7 The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The Fourth World (the fourth world).
- 8 The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The Industrialized World (the industrialized world).
- 9 The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The Developed World (the developed world).
- 10 The specific world, or any of several specific constituent worlds, that humans live in, among any other (real or possible) worlds:; Any of the (conceptually figurative) worlds that constitute (or have formerly been asserted to constitute) the world, as for example:; The Developing World (the developing world).
Antonyms
Example
"Education in this world disappoints me."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "world"?
Common synonyms include: domain, earth, humankind, abundance, acres, africa.
How do you use "world" in a sentence?
Education in this world disappoints me.
How do you pronounce "world"?
Pronounced /wɜːld/.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós Proto-Germanic *weraz Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *h₂életi Proto-Germanic *alaną Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Germanic *-þiz Proto-Germanic *aldiz Proto-Germanic *weraldiz Proto-West Germanic *weraldi Old English weorold Middle English world English world From Middle English world, from Old English weorold (“world”), from Proto-West Germanic *weraldi, from Proto-Germanic *weraldiz (“lifetime, human existence, world”, literally “age/era of man”), equivalent to wer (“man”) + eld (“age”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English mounde (“world”), from Old French monde, munde (“world”). Cognates Cognate with Scots warld (“world”), North Frisian Wārel, wäält, wråål (“world”), Saterland Frisian Waareld (“world”), West Frisian wrâld (“world”), Afrikaans wêreld (“world”), Bavarian Wöd (“world”), Dutch wereld (“world”), German, Luxembourgish Welt (“world”), German Low German Wereld, Werld (“world”), Vilamovian wełt (“world”), Yiddish וועלט (velt, “world”), Danish verden (“world”), Elfdalian wärd (“world”), Faroese verð, verøld (“world”), Icelandic veröld (“world”), Norn vrildan (“the earth”), Norwegian Bokmål verd, verden (“(the) world”), Norwegian Nynorsk verd (“world”), Swedish värld (“world”).