thick
/θɪk/ adjective, adverb, noun, verb
Forms thicker thickest thicks thicking thicked
- adjective Relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension.
- adjective Measuring a certain number of units in this dimension. “I want some planks that are two inches thick.”
- adjective Heavy in build; thickset. “He had such a thick neck that he had to turn his body to look to the side.”
- adjective Densely crowded or packed. “We walked through thick undergrowth.”
- adjective Having a viscous consistency. “My mum’s gravy was thick but at least it moved about.”
- adjective Abounding in number. “The room was thick with reporters.”
- adjective Impenetrable to sight. “We drove through thick fog.”
- adjective Greatly evocative of one's nationality or place of origin. “He answered me in his characteristically thick Creole patois.”
- adverb In a thick manner. “Snow lay thick on the ground.”
- adverb Frequently or numerously. “The arrows flew thick and fast around us.”
- noun The thickest, or most active or intense, part of something. “It was mayhem in the thick of battle.”
- noun A thicket.
- noun (slang) A stupid person; a fool.
- verb (archaic, ambitransitive) To thicken.
Synonyms
broad wide chunky solid stocky thickset fat crowded dense packed close compact tight glutinous viscous lentous gooey slabby stiff syrupy midst slurred heavyset deep chummy buddy-buddy blockheaded boneheaded duncical duncish
Antonyms
slim thin close filamentous fine narrow slender strait tight slight svelte gaunt
Etymology
From Middle English thikke, from Old English þicce (“thick, dense”), from Proto-West Germanic *þikkwī, from Proto-Germanic *þekuz (“thick”), from Proto-Indo-European *tégus (“thick”).
Cognate with North Frisian sjok, tjok, tjuk, tschok (“thick”), Saterland Frisian tjuk (“thick”), West Frisian dik, tuuk (“thick”), Central Franconian deck (“thick”), Cimbrian dikh, dikhe (“thick”), Dutch dik (“thick”), German dick (“thick”), Luxembourgish déck (“thick”), Yiddish דיק (dik, “thick”), Danish tyk (“thick”), Elfdalian tiokk (“thick”), Faroese tjúkkur (“thick”), Icelandic þykkur (“thick”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk tjukk, tykk (“thick”), Scanian tjykker (“thick”), Swedish tjock (“thick”); also Cornish and Welsh tew (“thick”), Irish tiubh, tiugh (“thick”), Manx çhiu (“thick”), Scottish Gaelic tiugh (“thick”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Measuring in the third dimension other than length and breadth, or in general dimension other than length; --said of a solid body; as, a timber seven inches thick.
- adjective Having more depth or extent from one surface to its opposite than usual; not thin or slender; as, a thick plank; thick cloth; thick paper; thick neck.
- noun The thickest part, or the time when anything is thickest.
- noun A thicket; as, gloomy thicks. [Obs.] Drayton.
Etymology [OE. thicke, AS. ; akin to D. dik, OS. thikki, OHG. dicchi thick, dense, G. dick thick, Icel. , , and probably to Gael. & Ir. tiugh. Cf. Tight.]
Etymology [AS. þicce.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “thick”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details