thread

American  

[thred] / θrɛd /

noun

• threads
  plural

1. 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.

2. twisted filaments or fibers of any kind used for sewing.

3. one of the lengths of yarn forming the warp or weft of a woven fabric.

4. a filament or fiber of glass or other ductile substance.

5. Ropemaking.

   1. any of a number of fibers twisted into a yarn.

   2. a yarn, especially as enumerated in describing small stuff.

6. 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.

7. the helical ridge of a screw.

8. that which runs through the whole course of something, connecting successive parts.

   I lost the thread of the story.

9. something conceived as being spun or continuously drawn out, as the course of life fabled to be spun, measured, and cut by the Fates.

10. 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.

11. Slang. threads, clothes.

---

verb (used with object)

• threads,
  present (3rd person singular)
• threaded,
  past participle,  past
• threading
  present participle

1. to pass the end of a thread through the eye of (a needle).

2. to fix (beads, pearls, etc.) upon a thread that is passed through; string.

3. to pass continuously through the whole course of (something); pervade.

   A joyous quality threaded the whole symphony.

4. to make one's way through (a narrow passage, forest, crowd, etc.).

5. to make (one's way) thus.

   He threaded his way through the crowd.

6. to form a thread on or in (a bolt, hole, etc.).

7. to place and arrange thread, yarn, etc., in position on (a sewing machine, loom, textile machine, etc.).

8. 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.

verb (used without object)

• threads,
  present (3rd person singular)
• threaded,
  past participle,  past
• threading
  present participle

1. to thread one's way, as through a passage or between obstacles.

   They threaded carefully along the narrow pass.

2. to move in a threadlike course; wind or twine.

3. Cooking. (of boiling syrup) to form a fine thread when poured from a spoon.

4. to remove facial hair, especially from the eyebrows, by using a looped and twisted thread.

thread British  

/ θrɛd /

noun

1. a fine strand, filament or fibre of some material

2. a fine cord of twisted filaments, esp of cotton, used in sewing, weaving, etc

3. any of the filaments of which a spider's web is made

4. any fine line, stream, mark, or piece

   from the air, the path was a thread of white

5. 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

6. a very thin seam of coal or vein of ore

7. something acting as the continuous link or theme of a whole

   the thread of the story

8. the course of an individual's life believed in Greek mythology to be spun, measured, and cut by the Fates

---

verb

1. (tr) to pass (thread, film, magnetic tape, etc) through (something)

   to thread a needle

   to thread cotton through a needle

2. (tr) to string on a thread

   she threaded the beads

3. to make (one's way) through or over (something)

4. (tr) to produce a screw thread by cutting, rolling, tapping, or grinding

5. (tr) to pervade

   hysteria threaded his account

6. (intr) (of boiling syrup) to form a fine thread when poured from a spoon

thread Idioms  

1. see hang by a thread; lose the thread.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• threader
  noun
• misthread
  verb
• rethread
  verb
• self-threading
  adjective
• threadless
  adjective
• threadlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• threads
  plural

Participles

• threading
  present
• threaded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• thread
  simple
• threads
  simple
• have threaded
  perfect
• has threaded
  perfect
• am threading
  progressive
• are threading
  progressive
• is threading
  progressive
• have been threading
  perfect progressive
• has been threading
  perfect progressive

Past

• threaded
  simple
• had threaded
  perfect
• was threading
  progressive
• were threading
  progressive
• had been threading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will thread
  simple
• will have threaded
  perfect
• will be threading
  progressive
• will have been threading
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of thread

before 900; (noun) Middle English threed, Old English thrǣd; cognate with Dutch draad, German Draht, Old Norse thrathr wire; (v.) Middle English threeden, derivative of the noun See throw

---

Explanation

Thread is a length of twisted fibers (usually three strands together), made from cotton, silk, or other material, that can be used in sewing, quilting, embroidery, and other handicrafts. The noun thread can also be used figuratively to refer to different parts of something, like thoughts or a conversation, that are connected as if joined by thread. If you were distracted by a crash in the kitchen, you might lose the thread of your conversation. Thread can also refer to the raised ridge on the outside of a screw or bolt, and you can use thread as a verb when you mean to string or to pass a thread through a needle.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thread threads threaded threading

Why write an entire article when I can dash off a quick thread and gain hundreds of likes?

From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2026

Yet rather than being maudlin or depressing, the opera’s central thread is about taking responsibility, and the determined ghosts use their power to enter Lincoln, hear his thoughts, and push him—and Willie—forward into resolution.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

But in expanding that lengthy article into a book, he sometimes loses the thread, indulging in digressions that detract from his study of transformation and redemption.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

"That's maybe a common thread of these films, is that they're not just holding wealth for themselves, but also their products don't seem to be very good for society," Tyree said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026

Anya hunched over her dress that Zvezda had torn the day before, drawing a needle and thread through the cloth to repair the tear.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

The spiral's shape determines how it responds to this flow, similar to the difference between screws with right- or left-handed threads.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2026

Chatbots also "put the wrong words in the mouths of candidates, officials, and observers hundreds of times" and frequently cited "poor quality" sources, such as Reddit threads, Forum AI said.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

Pulling on threads from psychology, sociology, neuroscience, and systems theory, Frade's thinking rejected the common belief that technical, tactical, physical and psychological parts of football should be treated as separate things.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

The firm says screenshots of text threads have been used as evidence.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

They passed under where the water touched the ceiling, and then Ivan pulled threads to close the ditch of air behind them, forming an oblong bubble around them instead.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

On the Cougars’ next possession, Grant threaded a pass through two Cavalier defenders, finding Kyion Rattler for an apparent 55-yard score.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026

“We’re bringing all those disparate AI-power moments for the customer into one really elegant single threaded conversational assistant,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The ’90s-era nihilism that threaded so many of Araki’s films has taken a hard slant toward technological despondency.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026

Researchers have now shown that specially shaped light can act as a similar type of threaded probe, interacting differently with molecules depending on their handedness.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

I yelled at her retreating back as she threaded her way through the crowd.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

Planets and stars generate their own fields, but gaps in our understanding emerge when we attempt to explain the much larger scale magnetic fields threading galaxies and clusters, and possibly even cosmic voids.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026

By threading Celan’s poems through the lived record, Ms. Arno restores a proud, wounded, flirtatious, multilingual man often romanticized by reverence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

Fury upped the tempo in the latter rounds, varying his attack and threading in several uppercuts, but Makhmudov absorbed them without ever really being shaken.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026

“It’s an exciting job threading the needle multiple times,” said Robert Navarro, project manager at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., which is in charge of the critical third segment of the relay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

So when we left chemistry and headed for the gym, I shifted my books over to one arm and took his hand, threading our fingers together.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• cord
• cotton
• fiber
• filament
• hair
• ribbon
• strand
• string
• wire
• wool
• yarn

---