4 DET In spoken English, people use this to introduce a person or thing into a story. □ I came here by chance and was just watching what was going on, when this girl attacked me.
5 PRON You use this to refer to a person or thing that is near you, especially when you touch them or point to them. When there are two or more people or things near you, this refers to the nearest one. □ 'If you'd prefer something else I'll gladly have it changed for you.'—'No, this is great.' □ 'Is this what you were looking for?' Bradley produced the handkerchief. ● DET This is also a determiner. □ This church was built in the eleventh century.
6 PRON You use this when you refer to a general situation, activity, or event which is happening or has just happened and which you feel involved in. □ I thought, this is why I've travelled thousands of miles. □ Tim, this is awful. I know what you must think, but it's not so.
7 DET You use this when you refer to the place you are in now or to the present time. □ We've stopped transporting weapons to this country by train. □ I think coffee is probably the best thing at this point. ● PRON This is also a pronoun. □ This is the worst place I've come across.
8 DET You use this to refer to the next occurrence in the future of a particular day, month, season, or festival. □ We're getting married this June.
9 ADV [ADV adj] You use this when you are indicating the size or shape of something with your hands. □ They'd said the wound was only about this big you see and he showed me with his fingers.
10 ADV [ADV adv] You use this when you are going to specify how much you know or how much you can tell someone. □ I am not going to reveal my plan, but I will tell you this much: if it works out, the next few years will be very interesting.
11 CONVENTION If you say this is it , you are agreeing with what someone else has just said. [FORMULAE ] □ 'You know, people conveniently forget the things they say.'—'Well this is it.'
12 PRON You use this in order to say who you are or what organization you are representing, when you are speaking on the phone, radio, or television. □ Hello, this is John Thompson.
13 DET You use this to refer to the medium of communication that you are using at the time of speaking or writing. □ What I'm going to do in this lecture is focus on something very specific.
14 → see also these
15 PHRASE If you say that you are doing or talking about this and that , or this, that, and the other you mean that you are doing or talking about a variety of things that you do not want to specify. □ 'And what are you doing now?'—'Oh this and that.'
this|tle /θ I s ə l/ (thistles ) N‑COUNT A thistle is a wild plant which has leaves with sharp points and purple flowers.
thith|er /ð I ðə r /
1 ADV [ADV after v] Thither means to the place that has already been mentioned. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ They have dragged themselves thither for shelter.
2 hither and thither → see hither
tho' also tho Tho' and tho are very informal written forms of though .
thong /θɒ ŋ, [AM ] θɔː ŋ/ (thongs )
1 N‑COUNT A thong is a long thin strip of leather, plastic, or rubber.
2 N‑COUNT A thong is a narrow band of cloth that is worn between a person's legs to cover up his or her sexual organs, and that is held up by a piece of string around the waist.
3 N‑COUNT [usu pl] Thongs are open shoes which are held on your foot by a V-shaped strap that goes between your big toe and the toe next to it. [mainly AM ] in BRIT, usually use flip-flops
tho|rac|ic /θɔːræ s I k/ ADJ [ADJ n] Thoracic means relating to or affecting your thorax. [MEDICAL ] □ …diseases of the thoracic area.
thor|ax /θɔː ræks/ (thoraxes or thoraces /θɔː rəsiːz/)
1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] Your thorax is the part of your body between your neck and your waist. [MEDICAL ]
2 N‑COUNT [usu sing] An insect's thorax is the central part of its body to which the legs and wings are attached. [TECHNICAL ]
thorn /θɔː r n/ (thorns )
1 N‑COUNT Thorns are the sharp points on some plants and trees, for example on a rose bush.
2 N‑VAR A thorn or a thorn bush or a thorn tree is a bush or tree which has a lot of thorns on it. □ …the shade of a thorn bush.
3 PHRASE If you describe someone or something as a thorn in your side or a thorn in your flesh , you mean that they are a continuous problem to you or annoy you. □ The Party was a thorn in the flesh of his coalition.
thorny /θɔː r ni/ (thornier , thorniest )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A thorny plant or tree is covered with thorns. □ …thorny hawthorn trees.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe a problem as thorny , you mean that it is very complicated and difficult to solve, and that people are often unwilling to discuss it. □ …the thorny issue of immigration policy.
thor|ough ◆◇◇ /θʌ rə, [AM ] θɜː roʊ/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A thorough action or activity is one that is done very carefully and in a detailed way so that nothing is forgotten. □ We are making a thorough investigation. □ How thorough is the assessment? ● thor|ough|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ Food that is being offered hot must be reheated thoroughly. ● thor|ough|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] The thoroughness of the evaluation process we went through was impressive.