thriving
Americanadjective
-
prospering or doing well; highly successful.
The Arts Commission plans to expand its thriving ArtSmart program into all 21 of the city’s elementary schools.
-
growing or developing vigorously; flourishing.
When I worked on her farm ten years ago there was still a thriving goat herd, but she’s been unable to keep it up on her own.
Other Word Forms
- thrivingly adverb
- unthriving adjective
Etymology
Origin of thriving
Explanation
Something that's thriving is doing very well. You have a thriving cupcake business if you can hardly bake enough to keep up with your customers' orders. Use the adjective thriving to describe something that's healthy — like your new puppy — or profitable and busy — like your dad's car dealership. A thriving Mexican food truck always has a long line in front of it, and a thriving publisher puts out many popular books. Thriving comes from the verb thrive, and its Old Norse root word, þrifask, which means both "thrive" and "grasp to oneself," from þrifa, "to clutch or grasp."
Vocabulary lists containing thriving
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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State of the Union Address 2016
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Ethan Frome
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The ball is back in LeBron James’ hands, and he is thriving in his “new” role as the Lakers’ primary caretaker.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026
Plymouth is the National Centre for Marine Autonomy and has a thriving hub of businesses at Turnchapel Wharf developing vessels that operate without a crew.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
Once among the poorest and most isolated countries in Asia, Vietnam has transformed itself into a thriving export economy, supplying consumer electronics, machinery and clothing to Western nations.
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
As a young postdoctoral scientist, he joined pioneering expeditions and descended more than a mile below the ocean surface in the submersible Alvin, where he observed thriving ecosystems in total darkness.
From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026
What my father aspired to be and what Allah had destined for him was nurtured chiefly by the fertile tutelage of his parents while his family was still together and thriving as a unit.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
