ˈnü-ˈwər(-ə)ld 
ˈnyü-
: of, relating to, or characteristic of the New World
Snatches and scraps of old-world philosophies and new-world ethics floated through his mind …—
Jack London
Jack LondonNew-world visitors accustomed to sedate, 55-mile-an-hour speed limits, lane discipline, and courtly driving may be genuinely astonished at old-world ways, especially when they're struggling with a stick shift on a hot summer day with no air-conditioning in the car.—Tony Rocca
Tony RoccaWe new-world settlers … brought the imagination of other countries to transplant it in a different geography.—Guy Davenport
Guy DavenportEven notes of honey can emerge with bottle age, and new-world examples of the wine made from ripe-picked grapes have exhibited aromas of fig and black raspberry jam.—John Winthrop Haeger
John Winthrop Haeger
Phrases
the New World
: the western hemisphere
especially
: the continental landmass of North and South America
It must therefore be inferred that the colonizers of the New World … numbered at least 900 individuals … —Johanna Nichols
compare old world
Johanna Nichols Examples of new-world in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2025
Increasingly, castor oil is being transformed into high-performance fibers and biopolymers, proving that old-world remedies can fuel new-world innovation.
—Dianne Plummer, Forbes.com, 20 Sep. 2025
Stanley Stewart, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
Our executive producers in Senegal found a cave on Gorée Island, a famous site known as one of the last places where slaves were held before being sent to the New World.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 10 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for new-world
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Adjective
Desai’s multipart meet-cute lets her challenge neat old-world–new-world dichotomies.
—Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2025
Increasingly, castor oil is being transformed into high-performance fibers and biopolymers, proving that old-world remedies can fuel new-world innovation.
—Dianne Plummer, Forbes.com, 20 Sep. 2025
Noun
One of the first outsiders to arrive in Amazonia was the conquistador Francisco de Orellana, who sailed to the New World from Spain in the 1520s and traveled from Quito to the Río Napo around 20 years later.
—Stanley Stewart, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
Our executive producers in Senegal found a cave on Gorée Island, a famous site known as one of the last places where slaves were held before being sent to the New World.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 10 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for new-world
Cite this Entry
“New-world.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/new-world. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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