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Kids under 18 who spend a portion of their life with their family outside of their parents culture. These children mix their home culture and host culture together to form a unique culture of their own that can only be shared by others who have had a similair experience.
Hannah was born in Arkansas but because her father is a diplomat, she moved to Japan and then Egypt where she has lived most of her life. Hannah finds it hard to relate to Egyptians and Americans her own age and finds the people who understand her the best are other Third Culture Kids.
by Erin Rayl October 11, 2007
Anybody who grows up under the influence of more than one culture. Usually refers to international-scale culture difference.
Seem pretentious? Too bad. They actually teach the term at some international schools.
"My mom's from Brasil and my dad's Australian. That makes me a third culture kid."
"I grew up overseas. I'm a third culture kid!"
by Spang November 27, 2005
A person who's personal "culture" is a fusion of two or more cultures to which s/he was exposed during childhood. Often abbreviated to TCK.
Third Culture Kids are often multilingual, very accepting and understanding of other cultures and good at adapting to new environments.
Third Culture Kids are most commonly the children of members of the military, international businessmen or diplomats, though the term can also be applied to the children of immigrants.

Notable TCKs include:
Barack Obama (Anglo-American mother, Nigerian father; raised in Hawai'i and Indonesia)
Kim Jong-il (Korean parents; raised in USSR, North Korea and China)
Keanu Reeves (English mother, American father; raised in Lebanon, Australia, USA and Canada)
Pete Docherty (British parents; raised in Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus and England)
Third Culture Kid: "My parents are Japanese and I was raised in France, so my culture is a third culture, a fusion of the Japanese and French cultures!"
by backpacker_x2 February 01, 2011
Euphemism for Military Brat.

Generally used by the hyper-politically correct to obscure the fact that their father was career military.

Although there are a few exceptions, the term has little if anything to do with biracial, citizen-of-the-world, kumbaya style of multiculturalism that the user would want their gay socialist friends to believe. It is most commonly used as a smokescreen to explain their spending part of their childhood overseas under the umbrella of the evil Republican imperialist war machine.
"OK, so like I was born in Okinawa and went to school in England, Germany and Guam."

"Wow, that's so cool. Was your mom in the Peace Corps or something?"

"Sort of... my dad was like with the government. My sister and I were like Third Culture Kids."
by White Andre March 06, 2012
Military brat.

How you tell your gay socialist friends that you grew up all over the world because dear old dad was a member of the evil imperialist war machine.
Our high school was too small to have a football team because we were third culture kids.
by White Andre March 06, 2012