thatch
noun
Also a material, as straw, rushes, leaves, or the like, used to cover roofs, grain stacks, etc.
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thatch
1 American
[thach]
/ θætʃ /
noun
-
thatches
plural
-
Also a material, as straw, rushes, leaves, or the like, used to cover roofs, grain stacks, etc.
-
a covering of such a material.
-
the leaves of various palms that are used for thatching.
-
something resembling thatch on a roof, especially thick hair covering the head.
a thatch of unruly red hair.
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Horticulture. a tightly bound layer of dead grass, including leaves, stems, and roots, that builds up on the soil surface at the base of the living grass of a lawn.
verb (used with object)
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thatches,
present (3rd person singular)
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thatched,
past participle, past
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thatching
present participle
-
to cover with or as if with thatch.
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Horticulture. to remove thatch from (a lawn); dethatch.
Thatch
2
American
[thach]
/ θætʃ /
noun
thatch
British
/ θætʃ /
noun
-
-
Also called: thatching. a roofing material that consists of straw, reed, etc
-
a roof made of such a material
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anything resembling this, such as the hair of the head
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Also called: thatch palm. any of various palms with leaves suitable for thatching
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
thatchsimple
-
thatchessimple
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have thatchedperfect
-
has thatchedperfect
-
am thatchingprogressive
-
are thatchingprogressive
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is thatchingprogressive
-
have been thatchingperfect progressive
-
has been thatchingperfect progressive
Past
-
thatchedsimple
-
had thatchedperfect
-
was thatchingprogressive
-
were thatchingprogressive
-
had been thatchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of thatch
before 900; (v.) Middle English thacchen, variant (with a from thak > dial. thack ) of thecchen, Old English theccan to cover, hide; cognate with Dutch dekken ( see deck), German decken, Old Norse thekja; (noun) Middle English thacche, variant (with ch from the v.) of thak
Explanation
When straw or other dried grasses are used to cover a roof, it's called thatch. People have used thatch to keep the rain out for at least 300 years. Although dry grasses might not seem like the sturdiest roof, thatch is actually a rain-proof, insulating substance. These days it's most common to find thatched roofs in developing countries, but some people use it for a deliberately rustic look. If someone describes your hair as thatch, they mean it looks as dry, messy, and thick as the thatch used as a roofing material. The root of thatch means "to cover."
Vocabulary lists containing thatch
"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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Much Ado About Nothing
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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.
See Examples For:
Surrounded by floodwaters, their hamlet of thatch and mud homes had been battling a massive outbreak of cholera, a deadly disease spread by poor sanitation.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025
The frequent cutting also reduces thatch buildup and creates healthier, thicker grass, while minimizing the use of pesticides.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
A second pass occurs in the later, dry season to remove what’s known as thatch from the ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
“It kills the dormant weed seeds and vegetation that you want to get rid of, and it creates a microclimate for earthworms to decompose the thatch and create a nice seed bed.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 17, 2023
“Good thing we caught you two in time,” Haskel said, his brown eyes bright and cheerful beneath a thatch of curls.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Examples include Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs, which offers drug prices at a transparent low price, and Thatch, which helps employees navigate insurance to choose better plans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
Lennox said at the moment, the Old Thatch earns 14 pence from every pint of beer while the tax office gets £2.50, or about $3.34.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 19, 2026
Fred Thatch Jr. had 13 points, making 6 of 8 shots.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 3, 2022
She and her partner Lawrence Steyn, another former guide, recently launched an online platform that aims to connect tourists with ethical safari camps and guides, called Thatch and Earth.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2021
Thatch smelling of the November rains; a stuffy little parlour with a smoky fire.
From The New Warden by Mrs. David G. Ritchie
Thurman is a natural at intoning amid the wispy thatches of underscoring, and she sometimes tries to inject some attitude into the dry libretto.
From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2022
Bryson DeChambeau fought the wind blowing in from the English Channel and the thick thatches of rough at Royal St. George’s.
From Fox News ● Jul. 15, 2021
Bryson DeChambeau’s new muscles were no match for the wind blowing in from the English Channel and the thick thatches of rough at Royal St. George’s.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 15, 2021
Six women raise their hands, flashing thick thatches of unshorn underarm hair.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 16, 2021
They saw the women in their miserable huts, or jacales, built of a few sticks driven into the ground and covered with old blankets and thatches of straw.
From Mary's Rainbow by Mary Edward Feehan
PIDDINGTON, England—This quiet Oxfordshire village boasts a 14th-century church, a small village hall, quaint thatched roofs and pleasant countryside walks in rolling hills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Early-morning pilgrims had arrived by foot or car, some in traditional white smocks and thatched hats, carrying wooden staves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
"If you look around, there are hardly any houses with iron-sheet roofs; most are just thatched houses."
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
A group of young people sheltered under a thatched hut by the side of the road, absorbed in a game of poker.
From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026
A thatched roof had been layered with mud to keep the inside as dry as possible.
From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner
"People were still thatching roofs and replanting," she said, warning that "for those communities, it will be even harder to reset".
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2025
And crafts can be up for consideration, such as basket-weaving, thatching and the art of creating tartan and tweed.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2023
The effect of the thatching — a discrete work in itself, called “Facade” — is startling and has drawn enormous online attention.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 22, 2022
Endless cross thatching in a bowl of noodles, meat, and cheese, that may or may not hold together when you invert the whole concoction onto a plate.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2019
Up the sides of the valley grew thick stands of thatching grass.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
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.
