thou
1 Americanpronoun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
pronoun
-
archaic refers to the person addressed: used mainly in familiar address or to a younger person or inferior
-
(usually capital) refers to God when addressed in prayer, etc
noun
-
one thousandth of an inch. 1 thou is equal to 0.0254 millimetre
-
informal short for thousand
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of thou1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English thū; cognate with German, Middle Dutch du, Old Norse thū, Gothic thu, Old Irish tú, Welsh, Cornish ti, Latin tū, Doric Greek tý, Lithuanian tù, Old Church Slavonic ty; akin to Sanskrit tvam; (verb) late Middle English thowen, derivative of the pronoun
Origin of thou2
First recorded in 1865–70; by shortening
Explanation
The word thou, used in place of "you," is not used much in modern language. In fact, with its Biblical feeling, it’s most often used in religious contexts. Otherwise, it might be used as slang for thousand. Anyone familiar with the Bible knows the word thou means "you." As the word worked its way from Old English, it varied a little in its subtext, from a plural referring to higher-ups, then to equals, and, around 1450, as a slightly insulting reference suggesting inferiority. Today, it's used primarily by specific religious groups, or as a somewhat affected, archaic word in poetry. As a side note, if someone asks you for a thou, they mean a thousand dollars.
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:
Ecclesiastes 11:1: “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 7, 2026
“When I do it, I'm trying not to be holier than thou in every way that I can. And I fail at that a fair amount.”
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2024
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2024
Where thou art guide, no ill can come.
From BBC ● May 5, 2023
“It’s interesting that thou should put it that way,” Mott replied.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
An unpublished short story by Charlotte Brontë featuring flogging and embezzling, as well as a poem stuffed with thees and thous, have been discovered inside a book owned by the novelist’s mother.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 12, 2015
This is precisely the sort of diction that Tagore chose for the English Gitanjali, which, with its thees and thous, has so tried our patience.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 8, 2011
This mostly felicitous British rendition updates the New English Bible of 1970, shedding thees and thous and many male nouns and pronouns.
From Time Magazine Archive
Translated directly from the Hebrew Masoretic text, the new Torah leaves out Elizabethan thees and thous, shuns traditional Biblical prose.
From Time Magazine Archive
Hast thous not torn the Naiad from her flood, The Elfin from the green grass, and from me The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?
From The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 5 by Poe, Edgar Allan
Get thee to a department store for some soft furnishings.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 3, 2026
Like Donne, we can mine wisdom from the frailty of our mortal bodies—but be grateful that when the bell tolls for thee, plague, smallpox and typhus won’t be to blame.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
In the Vantaa case, thee boy does not appear to have talked about his plans with anybody - and so may have fallen through the cracks.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2024
The felony charges against Gutierrez-Reed carry a possible sentence of up to thee years in prison.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 6, 2024
“Does thee plan to marry him?” she asked gently.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
The former is known for promoting evangelism, as seen in Jesus’ directive in Mark 16:15: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Beloved ye are come unto the church of the living God.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2024
They all listened as the sergeant at arms announced “hear ye, hear ye, all persons are commanded to keep silent under pain of imprisonment” during the course of the impeachment trial.
From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2024
Another letter from James between the lovers in 1623 said, "God bless you, my sweet child and wife, and grant that ye may ever be a comfort to your dear father and husband."
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2024
“Ye’ll excoose me, I know, for a-chaffin’ of ye, but the old woman here winked at me, which was as much as telling me to go on.”
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
With your $120,000 pensions and Social Security, you can both live comfortably.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
That’s why you see the range in our earnings guidance, which is really entirely determined by the situation on the oil market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Do you see how it’s got all of these runs in it?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
I was all ready to ask you about long-term care insurance.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Deputies will wait here until you go,” the sheriff sneers before sauntering toward the sandy-haired man.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
All of those candidate contortions bring to mind a line from Hamlet: To thine own self be true.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2024
“That was what my mama always used to say: to thine own self be true. I put a lot of stock in that,” she told The Guardian.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2023
Several of his pieces reflect the importance of Byrd, most explicitly “Two Motets,” an orchestration of “Bow thine Ear” and “Miserere mei, Deus.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 4, 2023
O Lord, save thy people and bless thine heritage.
From BBC ● May 5, 2023
Daddy brought along his Bible, so we read Proverbs 3:5 along with the deacon’s scripture reading: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
From "Finding Langston" by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Thou art risen to great estate and fortune — release thy shackles.
From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026
I then couldn’t help but recall Shakespeare: “Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince. And angels sing thee to thy rest.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
He offered words of wisdom for Thanksgiving: “Always do thy duty, which is best, leave unto the Lord the rest.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2025
And definitely no need to worry about that Jesus guy, with all his notions about "loving thy neighbor" and "welcoming the stranger."
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2024
This noble war in the sky elevated my spirits; I clasped my hands, and exclaimed aloud, “William, dear angel! this is thy funeral, this thy dirge!”
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
Despite your significant assets, your estate has been organized to not complicate matters.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Our food columnist Adam Chandler crossed the Hudson to sample one of your top recommendations: the New Jersey sloppy joe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Its politics unfolded through "fit checks" - showing your outfit - "Get Ready With Me" videos, first-person vlogs, memes and sardonic edits.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Happily, you and your husband have done pretty much everything right.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Well, your dad showed me a video of your last recital. And he’s right; you’re really talented,” she says.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
At age 62, he is entitled to collect up to 50% of the amount of his ex-spouse’s Social Security benefits, if they are greater than yours.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
"It's very much our money rather than mine or yours which is really nice especially as I took four years off work when we had children," says Sarah.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Today’s dramatists have been extending a generous invitation to their compatriots: We’ll show you our complexity, if you’ll show us yours.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
But if you want a similarly tailor-made representative in government, the choice is yours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
“Yes! Lovely! Excellent! You thought there were others? You thought there was more than yours truly?”
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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.
