What does "thread" mean?
A cord formed by spinning or twisting together textile fibers or filaments into one or more continuous strands, typically used in needlework.
Thread
/θɹɛd/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A cord formed by spinning or twisting together textile fibers or filaments into one or more continuous strands, typically used in needlework.
- Grammar: thread is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: yarn, acetate rayon, alpaca, angora.
- Useful contrasts: detach, disconnection, drift.
- Usage evidence: My grandma stooped down and picked up a needle and thread.
How to use "thread"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "thread" 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 "thread" 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 "thread" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "thread" 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 "thread" is acting as noun, verb 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 "yarn" 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 "thread", 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 A cord formed by spinning or twisting together textile fibers or filaments into one or more continuous strands, typically used in needlework.
"Woolen threads were an occult means, according to the Roman poet Horace, of depriving a person of virility."
- 2 the raised helical rib going around a screw wordnet
- 3 A piece of yarn, especially said of warps and wefts in a woven fabric.
- 4 a fine cord of twisted fibers (of cotton or silk or wool or nylon etc.) used in sewing and weaving wordnet
- 5 Any of various natural (as spiderweb, etc.) or manufactured filaments (as glass, plastic, metal, etc.).
"the threads of a spiderweb"
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 the connections that link the various parts of an event or argument together wordnet
- 7 A slender stream of water.
"a thread of water"
- 8 any long object resembling a thin line wordnet
- 9 The line midway between the banks of a stream.
- 10 A screw thread.
- 11 The continuing course of life; thread of life.
- 12 An ordered course, that which connects the successive points in a discourse.; A line of reasoning, sequence of ideas, or train of thought.
"I’ve lost the thread of what you’re saying."
- 13 An ordered course, that which connects the successive points in a discourse.; A continuing theme that modifies the whole discourse.
"All of these essays have a common thread."
- 14 A unit of execution, lighter in weight than a process, usually sharing memory and other resources with other threads executing concurrently.
- 15 A series of posts or messages, consisting of an initial post and responses to it, generally relating to the same subject, on a newsgroup, Internet forum, or social media platform. Internet
- 16 A sequence of connections.
- 17 A precarious condition; something that which offers no real or otherwise perceived security.
"a life hanging by a thread"
- 18 The degree of fineness; quality; nature. figuratively, obsolete
"A neat courtier, / Of a most elegant thread."
Verb
- 1 To pass a thread through the eye of a needle. transitive
- 2 thread on or as if on a string wordnet
- 3 To fix (beads, pearls, etc.) upon a thread that is passed through; to string. transitive
- 4 pass through or into wordnet
- 5 To make one's way through or between (a constriction or obstacles). figuratively, transitive
"to thread through narrow passages"
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 remove facial hair by tying a fine string around it and pulling at the string wordnet
- 7 To make one's way through or between (a constriction or obstacles).; To cautiously make (one's way) through a precarious place or situation. figuratively, transitive
"He threaded his way through legal entanglements."
- 8 pass a thread through wordnet
- 9 To pass through; to pierce through; to penetrate. figuratively, transitive
"And when the Miners by theſe Shafts or Adits do ſtrike or threed a Vein of any Metal […] then the Metal which is digged […] is called Oar […]"
- 10 to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course wordnet
- 11 To interweave as if with thread; to intersperse. transitive
"[...] the urban landscape threaded with parks and trees to the horizon. The enormous sky over that flat line dazzled clear blue or filled with towers of cumulus clouds."
- 12 To form a screw thread on or in (a bolt, hole, etc.). transitive
"Coordinate term: tap"
- 13 To remove (facial hair) by way of a looped thread that is tightly wound in the middle. ambitransitive
"to thread your eyebrows and trim them"
- 14 To feed (a sewing machine or otherwise a projecting or exposing mechanism, such as a projector, a camera, etc.) with film. ambitransitive
- 15 To pass (a film or tape) through a projector, recorder, etc. so as to correct its path. transitive
- 16 Of boiling syrup: To form a threadlike stream when poured from a spoon. intransitive
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"My grandma stooped down and picked up a needle and thread."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "thread"?
Common synonyms include: yarn, acetate rayon, alpaca, angora, animal fiber, aralac.
How do you use "thread" in a sentence?
My grandma stooped down and picked up a needle and thread.
How do you pronounce "thread"?
Pronounced /θɹɛd/.
Etymology
From Middle English thred, þred, threed, from Old English þrǣd, from Proto-Germanic *þrēduz, from Proto-Indo-European *treh₁-tu-s, from *terh₁- (“rub, twist”). Cognates Cognate with Yola dreade (“thread”), Saterland Frisian Träid (“thread, wire”), Cimbrian draat (“string, thread”), Dutch draad (“thread, wire”), German Draht (“thread, wire”), Luxembourgish Drot (“wire”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish tråd (“thread, wire”), Faroese tráður (“thread”), Icelandic þráður (“thread”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian dredh (“twist, turn”). More at throw.