Thesp

noun, verb, slang

noun, verb, slang ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An actor. informal

    "For this particular storytelling approach to work, however, audiences must also find themselves seduced by the figures in question — a tall order in a movie that’s overwritten, over-scored and wildly overacted by thesps who should all know better."

Verb
  1. 1
    To act (perform in a play etc.). informal

    "The play is expertly thesped by a competent cast of actors […]"

Example

More examples

"For this particular storytelling approach to work, however, audiences must also find themselves seduced by the figures in question — a tall order in a movie that’s overwritten, over-scored and wildly overacted by thesps who should all know better."

Etymology

Clipping of thespian.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.