thong
Americannoun
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a strip of material, especially of leather or hide, used to fasten or secure something.
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a strip of leather or hide used for whipping; whiplash.
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a shoe or slipper fastened to the foot chiefly by a strip of leather or other material passing between the first and second toes and often attaching to another strip of material, as a strap across the instep or around the ankle.
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a brief garment for the lower body that exposes the buttocks, consisting of a strip of fabric passing between the thighs and attached to a band around the waist.
noun
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a thin strip of leather or other material, such as one used for lashing things together
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a whip or whiplash, esp one made of leather
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the usual name for flip-flop
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a skimpy article of beachwear, worn by men or women, consisting of thin strips of leather or cloth attached to a piece of material that covers the genitals while leaving the buttocks bare
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a similar item of underwear
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of thong
before 950; Middle English; Old English thwong; akin to Old Norse thvengr strap, thvinga to compel
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.
Now think of all the trends that originated with those two: the selfie, purse dogs, contouring, thong heels, public awareness of and/or emotional investment in Kylie and Caitlyn Jenner, to name a few.
From Salon • Feb. 3, 2022
Watching “Do It Debbie’s Way,” I picture a trio of women in 1983: Fisher posing in her iron thong, Reynolds lunging in her raspberry spandex, and Winters lounging in her oversized sweatshirt.
From The New Yorker • Apr. 9, 2019
Don’t wear thong underwear, for instance, because those garments “allow bacteria to travel easier to the urethra,” Berkeley explains.
From Washington Post • Feb. 3, 2017
Michael Jordan wore his basketball shorts from North Carolina beneath his Chicago Bulls' version his entire pro career and Yankees slugger Jason Giambi famously donned a thong every time his batting average plummeted.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 2, 2011
Michelangelo whipped the leather thong against the metal, and the bell hummed quietly in reply.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
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.
