new-world

1 of 2

adjective

: 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
New-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
We new-world settlers … brought the imagination of other countries to transplant it in a different geography.Guy Davenport
Even 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

New World

2 of 2

noun

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

Examples of new-world in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Adjective
At a time of intensifying divisions at home, a depiction of Ecuador could offer an Edenic, new-world landscape free from the partisanship tainting Church’s New England landscapes. Sebastian Smee, New Yorker, 4 May 2026 Desai’s multipart meet-cute lets her challenge neat old-world–new-world dichotomies. Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2025
Noun
The Native Peruvian star claims the famed director told his team to base the design for the main character Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña) on her facial features after Cameron saw her in the 2006 Terrence Malick film The New World. Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 6 May 2026 Members believe the United States government is collaborating with a one-world international conspiracy called the New World Order, the Anti-Defamation League said. Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 6 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for new-world

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1855, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1549, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of new-world was in 1549

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“New-world.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/new-world. Accessed 15 May. 2026.

Kids Definition

New World

noun
: the western hemisphere
especially : the continental landmass of North and South America
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