[] a way of referring to the poor or developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, which is sometimes considered offensive. 第三世界（指亚非拉的发展中国家）◆the problem of third-world debt (= money owed to rich countries by poor countries)第三世界债务问题ⓘ Developing countries is a more acceptable way of referring to these countries在指代这些国家时，developing countries 一词更合适。