World War III

proper noun

A hypothetical world war following World War II.

Similar
Third World War
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Meanings

proper noun

alternative World War 3 · alternative World War Three · alternative abbreviation WWIII · alternative abbreviation WW3

  1. A hypothetical world war following World War II.

    One time ago a crazy dream came to me / I dreamt I was walking into World War Three

    1963, Bob Dylan, “Talkin' World War III Blues”, in The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
    4 more examples

    "I can't pretend I'm sorry to hear of the Khan's death - at least that removes the threat of World War Three - but what are we left with?"

    1957, Sydney J. Bounds, The Robot Brains, London: Digit Books, page 62

    And I also wanted to be sure to keep Chiang Kai-shek, who had some notion of starting a World War Number Three, from going into China and doing just that.

    1964, Harry S. Truman, 2:16 from the start, in MP2002-410 Several Cuts of Former President Truman Talking about Wars and Korea, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162

    The WOPR [War Operations Planning Response] has already fought World War III as a game time and time again.

    1983, Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes, WarGames, spoken by Paul Richter

    No, we can't have alphabetical seating in the abbey. You'd have Iraq and Iran next to each other (laugh track)... Plus Israel and Jordan all sitting in the same pew (laugh track)! We'd be in danger of starting World War III (laugh track)!

    1987 December 17, Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, “A Diplomatic Incident”, in Yes, Prime Minister, season 2, episode 3, spoken by Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds)

    Synonyms: Third World War

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounA hypothetical world war following World War II.

Similar
Third World War

Translations

Arabic اَلْحَرْبُ اَلْعَالَمِيَّةُ اَلثَّالِثَة
  • اَلْحَرْبُ اَلْعَالَمِيَّةُ اَلثَّالِثَة (al-ḥarbu l-ʕālamiyyatu ṯ-ṯāliṯa)hypothetical world war (World War III)
Catalan Tercera Guerra Mundial
  • Tercera Guerra Mundialhypothetical world war (World War III)
Chinese Mandarin 第三次世界大戰 /第三次世界大战, 三戰 /三战
  • 第三次世界大戰 /第三次世界大战 (Dì-sān Cì Shìjiè Dàzhàn)hypothetical world war (World War III)
  • 三戰 /三战 (Sānzhàn)hypothetical world war (World War III)
Danish tredje verdenskrig, 3. verdenskrig
  • tredje verdenskrighypothetical world war (World War III)
  • 3. verdenskrighypothetical world war (World War III)
Dutch Derde Wereldoorlog
  • Derde Wereldoorloghypothetical world war (World War III)
Esperanto Tria Mondmilito
  • Tria Mondmilitohypothetical world war (World War III)
Finnish kolmas maailmansota
  • kolmas maailmansotahypothetical world war (World War III)
French Troisième Guerre mondiale
  • Troisième Guerre mondialehypothetical world war (World War III)
German Dritter Weltkrieg
  • Dritter Weltkrieghypothetical world war (World War III)
Greek Γ΄ Παγκόσμιος Πόλεμος
  • Γ΄ Παγκόσμιος Πόλεμοςhypothetical world war (World War III)
Hindi तृतीय विश्व युद्ध
  • तृतीय विश्व युद्ध (tŕtīya viśva yuddh)hypothetical world war (World War III)
Hungarian harmadik világháború
  • harmadik világháborúhypothetical world war (World War III)
Icelandic þriðja heimsstyrjöldin
  • þriðja heimsstyrjöldinhypothetical world war (World War III)
Italian Terza Guerra Mondiale
  • Terza Guerra Mondialehypothetical world war (World War III)
Japanese 第三次世界大戦, 第3次世界大戦
  • 第三次世界大戦hypothetical world war (World War III)
  • 第3次世界大戦 (Daisanji Sekai Taisen)hypothetical world war (World War III)
Korean 제3차 세계 대전, 제삼차 세계 대전
  • 제3차 세계 대전hypothetical world war (World War III)
  • 제삼차 세계 대전 (Jesamcha segye daejeon)hypothetical world war (World War III)
Norwegian tredje verdenskrig
  • tredje verdenskrighypothetical world war (World War III)
Persian جنگ جهانی سوم
  • جنگ جهانی سوم (jang-e jahâni-ye sevvom)hypothetical world war (World War III)
Portuguese terceira guerra mundial
  • terceira guerra mundialhypothetical world war (World War III)
Romanian Al Treilea Război Mondial
  • Al Treilea Război Mondialhypothetical world war (World War III)
Russian тре́тья мирова́я война́
  • тре́тья мирова́я война́ (trétʹja mirovája vojná)hypothetical world war (World War III)
Spanish Tercera Guerra Mundial
  • Tercera Guerra Mundialhypothetical world war (World War III)
Swedish tredje världskriget
  • tredje världskrigethypothetical world war (World War III)
Tagalog Ikatlong Digmaang Pandaigdig
  • Ikatlong Digmaang Pandaigdighypothetical world war (World War III)
Tamil மூன்றாம் உலகப் போர்
  • மூன்றாம் உலகப் போர் (mūṉṟām ulakap pōr)hypothetical world war (World War III)
Turkish Üçüncü Dünya Savaşı, 3. Dünya Savaşı
  • Üçüncü Dünya Savaşıhypothetical world war (World War III)
  • 3. Dünya Savaşıhypothetical world war (World War III)
Ukrainian Тре́тя світова́ війна́
  • Тре́тя світова́ війна́ (Trétja svitová vijná)hypothetical world war (World War III)
Urdu جَنْگِ عَظیم سوم
  • جَنْگِ عَظیم سوم (jang-e azīm som)hypothetical world war (World War III)
Vietnamese Chiến tranh thế giới thứ ba, Đệ tam thế chiến
  • Chiến tranh thế giới thứ bahypothetical world war (World War III)
  • Đệ tam thế chiếnhypothetical world war (World War III)
Cite this entry
APA

World War III. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/World%20War%20III

MLA

“World War III.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/World%20War%20III. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “World War III,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/World%20War%20III.

Source: World War III on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.