Thrive

//θɹaɪv// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To grow or increase stature; to grow vigorously or luxuriantly; to enjoy a state of excellent health and well-being; to flourish. intransitive

    "Not all animals thrive well in captivity."

  2. 2
    grow vigorously wordnet
  3. 3
    To increase in wealth or success; to prosper, be profitable. intransitive

    "Since expanding in June, the business has really thrived."

  4. 4
    make steady progress; be at the high point in one's career or reach a high point in historical significance or importance wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
boomaboundadvancearrivebattenbe energetic

Example

More examples

"Pop artists thrive on the adulation of their loyal fans."

Etymology

From Middle English thryven, thriven, from Old Norse þrífa (“to seize, grasp, take hold, prosper”), from Proto-Germanic *þrībaną (“to seize, prosper”), from Proto-Indo-European *trep-, *terp- (“to satisfy, enjoy”). Cognate with Swedish trivas, Danish trives, Norwegian Bokmål trives.

Related phrases

failure to thrive

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