What does "thick" mean?
The thickest, or most active or intense, part of something.
Thick
/θɪk/ adj, adv, det, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, det, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The thickest, or most active or intense, part of something.
- Grammar: thick is listed as adj, adv, det, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: dense, stocky, a bit thick, a bit thin.
- Useful contrasts: sharp, airy, bladelike.
- Usage evidence: One book is thin. The other is thick. The thick one has about 200 pages.
How to use "thick"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "thick" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "thick" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "thick" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "thick" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "thick" is acting as adj, adv, det, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "dense" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "thick", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The thickest, or most active or intense, part of something.
"It was mayhem in the thick of battle."
- 2 the location of something surrounded by other things wordnet
- 3 A thicket.
"gloomy thicks"
- 4 A stupid person; a fool. slang
"If there was doctorates in bollocksology and scratching yourself in bed, the two of you'd be professors by now. Pair of loafing, idle thicks."
Verb
- 1 To thicken. ambitransitive, archaic
"A wicked ambush , which lay hidden long In the close covert of her guilful eyen, Thence breaking forth , did thick about me throng"
Adjective
- 1 Relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension.
"The thickest salmon, the curdiest trout, the fattest partridge, and the most tender woodcock smoked on his board, and, rumor said, cooked with a delicacy that more pretentious houses could not rival."
- 2 Measuring a certain number of units in this dimension.
"I want some planks that are two inches thick."
- 3 Heavy in build; thickset.
"He had such a thick neck that he had to turn his body to look to the side."
- 4 Densely crowded or packed.
"My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price."
- 5 Having a viscous consistency.
"My mum’s gravy was thick but at least it moved about."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 Abounding in number.
"The room was thick with reporters."
- 7 Impenetrable to sight.
"We drove through thick fog."
- 8 Prominent, strong.; Greatly evocative of one's nationality or place of origin.
"He answered me in his characteristically thick Creole patois."
- 9 Prominent, strong.; Difficult to understand, or poorly articulated.
"We had difficulty understanding him with his thick accent."
- 10 Stupid. informal
"He was as thick as two short planks."
- 11 Friendly or intimate. informal
"They were as thick as thieves."
- 12 Deep, intense, or profound.
"Thick darkness."
- 13 Detailed and expansive; substantive. literary
"Thick prehistory also is interested in a much broader array of topics than the perennial sociological concern for how individuals relate to the collective and how social continuity and change occur in light of that relationship; thick prehistory addresses the social, biological, and psychological person."
- 14 Troublesome; unreasonable. UK, dated
"“Screaming headlines in every paper in the country—damn all journalists, I say! Do you know there was a whole crowd staring in at the lodge gates this morning. Sort of Madame Tussaud’s chamber of horrors business that can be seen for nothing. Pretty thick, isn’t it?”"
- 15 Curvy and voluptuous, and especially having large hips. slang
"A word to the thick soul sistas, I want to get with ya"
Adjective
- 1 abounding; having a lot of wordnet
- 2 (used informally) stupid wordnet
- 3 (used informally) associated on close terms wordnet
- 4 having component parts closely crowded together wordnet
- 5 spoken as if with a thick tongue wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 (of darkness) densely dark wordnet
- 7 hard to pass through because of dense growth wordnet
- 8 having a short and solid form or stature wordnet
- 9 not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions wordnet
- 10 relatively dense in consistency wordnet
Adverb
- 1 In a thick manner.
"Snow lay thick on the ground."
- 2 Frequently or numerously.
"The arrows flew thick and fast around us."
Adverb
- 1 in quick succession wordnet
- 2 with a thick consistency wordnet
Determiner
- 1 Alternative form of thilk (“that same”). alt-of, alternative
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"One book is thin. The other is thick. The thick one has about 200 pages."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "thick"?
Common synonyms include: dense, stocky, a bit thick, a bit thin, absurd, abundant.
How do you use "thick" in a sentence?
One book is thin. The other is thick. The thick one has about 200 pages.
How do you pronounce "thick"?
Pronounced /θɪk/.
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”). Cognates 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”).