thread
a fine cord of flax, cotton, or other fibrous material spun out to considerable length, especially when composed of two or more filaments twisted together.
twisted filaments or fibers of any kind used for sewing.
one of the lengths of yarn forming the warp or weft of a woven fabric.
a filament or fiber of glass or other ductile substance.
Ropemaking.
any of a number of fibers twisted into a yarn.
a yarn, especially as enumerated in describing small stuff.
something having the fineness or slenderness of a filament, as a thin continuous stream of liquid, a fine line of color, or a thin seam of ore: a thread of smoke.
the helical ridge of a screw.
that which runs through the whole course of something, connecting successive parts: I lost the thread of the story.
something conceived as being spun or continuously drawn out, as the course of life fabled to be spun, measured, and cut by the Fates.
Digital Technology. a series of posts and responses on a message board or electronic mailing list that deal with the same subject and are grouped together.
threads, Slang. clothes.
to pass the end of a thread through the eye of (a needle).
to fix (beads, pearls, etc.) upon a thread that is passed through; string.
to pass continuously through the whole course of (something); pervade: A joyous quality threaded the whole symphony.
to make one's way through (a narrow passage, forest, crowd, etc.).
to make (one's way) thus: He threaded his way through the crowd.
to form a thread on or in (a bolt, hole, etc.).
to place and arrange thread, yarn, etc., in position on (a sewing machine, loom, textile machine, etc.).
to remove (facial hair, especially eyebrow hair) by using a looped and twisted thread to roll over the hair and lift it from the follicles.
to thread one's way, as through a passage or between obstacles: They threaded carefully along the narrow pass.
to move in a threadlike course; wind or twine.
Cooking. (of boiling syrup) to form a fine thread when poured from a spoon.
to remove facial hair, especially from the eyebrows, by using a looped and twisted thread.
Origin of thread
1Other words from thread
- threader, noun
- threadless, adjective
- threadlike, adjective
- mis·thread, verb
- re·thread, verb
- self-threading, adjective
Words Nearby thread
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use thread in a sentence
They are always suspended over a precipice, dangling by a slender thread that shows every sign of snapping.
Redlich noted that this is another common thread in false confessions.
How the U.S. Justice System Screws Prisoners with Disabilities | Elizabeth Picciuto | December 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTColfer's artistic callings share a common thread: they are deeply personal and rooted in a challenging childhood.
Chris Colfer on Writing, Acting, and the Pain of Being A Pop Culture Trailblazer | Oliver Jones | December 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere, he first picked up needle and thread to mend the shirt of an SS guard who had just beaten him.
From Auschwitz to the White House: One Tailor’s American Tale | Martin Greenfield | December 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMalaysian airlines In the Reddit thread “What is the Best ‘Too Soon’ costume for Halloween?”
Sexy Ebola Nurse & More of the Year’s Worst Halloween Costumes | Kevin Fallon | October 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But it was the labyrinth for which the earlier economist held, so he thought, the thread.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockThe organism is an actively motile spiral thread, about four times the diameter of a red corpuscle in length.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddI shall then give an account of my various excursions in an Appendix, and afterwards resume the thread of my journal.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferIts anterior portion is slender and thread-like, while the posterior portion is thicker (Fig. 112).
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddSpirochte pallida is an extremely slender, spiral, motile thread, with pointed ends.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
British Dictionary definitions for thread
/ (θrɛd) /
a fine strand, filament or fibre of some material
a fine cord of twisted filaments, esp of cotton, used in sewing, weaving, etc
any of the filaments of which a spider's web is made
any fine line, stream, mark, or piece: from the air, the path was a thread of white
a helical groove in a cylindrical hole (female thread), formed by a tap or lathe tool, or a helical ridge on a cylindrical bar, rod, shank, etc (male thread), formed by a die or lathe tool
a very thin seam of coal or vein of ore
something acting as the continuous link or theme of a whole: the thread of the story
the course of an individual's life believed in Greek mythology to be spun, measured, and cut by the Fates
(tr) to pass (thread, film, magnetic tape, etc) through (something): to thread a needle; to thread cotton through a needle
(tr) to string on a thread: she threaded the beads
to make (one's way) through or over (something)
(tr) to produce a screw thread by cutting, rolling, tapping, or grinding
(tr) to pervade: hysteria threaded his account
(intr) (of boiling syrup) to form a fine thread when poured from a spoon
Origin of thread
1- See also threads
Derived forms of thread
- threader, noun
- threadless, adjective
- threadlike, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with thread
see hang by a thread; lose the thread.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse