3 ADJ If something that consists of several things is thick , it has a large number of them very close together. □ She inherited our father's thick, wavy hair. □ They walked through thick forest. ● thick|ly ADV [ADV after v, oft ADV -ed] □ I rounded a bend where the trees and brush grew thickly.
4 ADJ [v-link ADJ with n] If something is thick with another thing, the first thing is full of or covered with the second. □ [+ with ] The air is thick with acrid smoke from the fires.
5 ADJ Thick clothes are made from heavy cloth, so that they will keep you warm in cold weather. □ In the winter she wears thick socks, Wellington boots and gloves.
6 ADJ Thick smoke, fog, or cloud is difficult to see through. □ The smoke was bluish-black and thick.
7 ADJ Thick liquids are fairly stiff and solid and do not flow easily. □ They had to battle through thick mud to reach construction workers.
8 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If someone's voice is thick , they are not speaking clearly, for example because they are ill, upset, or drunk. □ [+ with ] When he spoke his voice was thick with bitterness. ● thick|ly ADV [ADV after v] □ 'It's all my fault,' he mumbled thickly.
9 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A thick accent is very obvious and easy to identify. □ He answered our questions in English but with a thick accent.
10 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you describe someone as thick , you think they are stupid. [BRIT , INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ How could she have been so thick?
11 PHRASE If things happen thick and fast , they happen very quickly and in large numbers. □ The rumours have been coming thick and fast.
12 PHRASE If you are in the thick of an activity or situation, you are very involved in it. □ I enjoy being in the thick of things.
13 PHRASE If you do something through thick and thin , you do it although the conditions or circumstances are very bad. □ She'd stuck by Bob through thick and thin.
14 a thick skin → see skin
thick|en /θ I kən/ (thickens , thickening , thickened )
1 VERB When you thicken a liquid or when it thickens , it becomes stiffer and more solid. □ [V n] Thicken the broth with the cornflour. □ [V ] Keep stirring until the sauce thickens.
2 VERB If something thickens , it becomes more closely grouped together or more solid than it was before. □ [V ] The crowds around him began to thicken.
3 PHRASE People sometimes say ' the plot thickens ' when a situation or series of events is getting more and more complicated and mysterious. □ 'Find anything?' he asked. 'Yeah. The plot thickens,' I said.
thick|en|er /θ I kənə r / (thickeners ) N‑VAR A thickener is a substance that is added to a liquid in order to make it stiffer and more solid. □ …cornstarch, used as a thickener. □ How much thickener is used?
thick|et /θ I k I t/ (thickets ) N‑COUNT A thicket is a small group of trees or bushes which are growing closely together.
thick|set /θ I kse t/ also thick-set ADJ A man who is thickset is broad and heavy, with a solid-looking body. □ He was of middle height, thick-set. □ …his stout, thickset figure.
thi ck-ski nned ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you say that someone is thick-skinned , you mean that they are not easily upset by criticism or unpleasantness. □ He was thick-skinned enough to cope with her taunts.
thief /θiː f/ (thieves /θiː vz/) N‑COUNT A thief is a person who steals something from another person. □ The thieves snatched the camera. □ …car thieves.
thiev|ing /θiː v I ŋ/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Thieving is the act of stealing things from people. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ …an ex-con who says he's given up thieving.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Thieving means involved in stealing things or intending to steal something. □ A thieving postman has been jailed for ripping open parcels.
thigh /θa I / (thighs ) N‑COUNT Your thighs are the top parts of your legs, between your knees and your hips.
thim|ble /θ I mb ə l/ (thimbles ) N‑COUNT A thimble is a small metal or plastic object which you use to protect your finger when you are sewing.
thin ◆◇◇ /θ I n/ (thinner , thinnest , thins , thinning , thinned )
1 ADJ Something that is thin is much narrower than it is long. □ A thin cable carries the signal to a computer. □ James's face was thin, finely boned, and sensitive.
2 ADJ A person or animal that is thin has no extra fat on their body . □ He was a tall, thin man with grey hair. ● thin|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ There was something familiar about him, his fawn raincoat, his thinness, the way he moved.
3 ADJ Something such as paper or cloth that is thin is flat and has only a very small distance between its two opposite surfaces. □ …a small, blue-bound book printed in fine type on thin paper. ● thin|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ Peel and thinly slice the onion.
4 ADJ Liquids that are thin are weak and watery. □ The soup was thin and clear, yet mysteriously rich.
5 ADJ A crowd or audience that is thin does not have many people in it. □ The crowd, which had been thin for the first half of the race, had now grown considerably. ● thin|ly ADV [ADV -ed] □ The island is thinly populated.