Meanings
adjectivethird best (not comparable)
alternative third-best
- not comparableeconomicsCharacterized by being a third best in the below sense.
This reduces the inflation bias but brings higher employment variability than is optimal, a "stabilization bias," and hence leads to a third-best equilibrium rather than the second best.
1997 Mar, Lars E. O. Svensson, “Optimal Inflation Targets, "Conservative" Central Banks, and Linear Inflation Contracts”, in The American Economic Review, volume 87, number 1, pages 98–114
nounthird best (plural third bests)
plural third bests · alternative third-best
- economicsA second best that is second best relative to a situation that is itself a second best.
Synonyms & antonyms
Opposite
Cite this entry
APA
third best. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/third%20best
MLA
“third best.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/third%20best. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “third best,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/third%20best.
Source: third best on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.