See also: third degree English Alternative forms in the third degree, 3rd degree Adjective third-degree (not comparable) At the third level of some system, particularly: (law) The least severe level of felony, typically involving a lack of planning and/or the presence of various mitigating factors. The jury found him guilty of third-degree murder since he had only meant to beat the clown, not to kill him. (of burns) An extremely severe level of damage, typically involving major scarring and damage to subcutaneous tissue as well as the epidermis. Coordinate terms first-degree, second-degree, fourth-degree Derived terms third-degree burnthird-degree manslaughterthird-degree murderthird-degree relative Translations least severe level of felony offense Finnish: lievä (fi) severely burnt Dutch: van de derde graad, derdegraads- Finnish: kolmannen asteen (fi) Hungarian: harmadfokú (hu) Wikiwand - on Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.