thank
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
interjection
idioms
-
no thanks to, (used to express annoyance) not owing to.
I caught my flight after all, no thanks to you.
-
thanks to, (used to express gratitude or blame) because of; owing to.
Thanks to good organization and hard work, the benefit concert was a great success.
The case went poorly thanks to the lawyer's incompetence.
-
thank God, (used as an interjection to express relief, thankfulness, etc.) Also thank goodness, thank heaven
-
have oneself to thank, to be personally to blame; have the responsibility.
The citizens have only themselves to thank for corruption in government.
-
thank you, (used as an interjection to express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment, as for a gift, favor, service, or courtesy).
verb
-
to convey feelings of gratitude to
-
to hold responsible
he has his creditors to thank for his bankruptcy
-
used in exclamations of relief
thank goodness
thank God
-
used ironically to intensify a command, request, etc
I'll thank you to mind your own business
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
thanksimple
-
thankssimple
-
have thankedperfect
-
has thankedperfect
-
am thankingprogressive
-
are thankingprogressive
-
is thankingprogressive
-
have been thankingperfect progressive
-
has been thankingperfect progressive
Past
-
thankedsimple
-
had thankedperfect
-
was thankingprogressive
-
were thankingprogressive
-
had been thankingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of thank
First recorded before 900; Middle English (noun) “favorable thought, goodwill, gratitude,” (in singular and plural) expression of thanks; Old English thanc (in singular) expression of thanks, originally, “thought, thoughtfulness”; akin to think 1
Explanation
When you thank someone, you tell them how grateful or appreciative you are. You'll definitely thank your friends if they get together and throw you a fabulous surprise party for your birthday. If you appreciate something, like friendly, quick service at a restaurant or a stranger's generosity, you'll want to say, "Thanks!" Saying "thanks" or "thank you" is just one way to thank someone: you can also write a grateful note, leave a tip, or bake them cupcakes. People sometimes say, "Thank goodness!" when they're relieved that some disaster was averted.
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:
"Grateful to everyone for being with us through thick and thin for the past 50 years, thank you, take care," it said on social media, without providing further details.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Josh said he could not thank the NHS staff he had been looked after by enough, adding the "kindness of people" in general had blown him away.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
But when I understood the connection last year, I tried to get in touch with Professor Strachan to thank her, only to find out that, in 2022, she died after a long battle with cancer.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
“We thank you for your support, love, and understanding as we work through this painful process while honoring Malcolm’s life on the first anniversary of his death.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
“I do thank you for the opportunity, sir.”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
A growing number of national, state or local governments are pausing, banning or restricting new data centre construction on environmental grounds thanks to their vast water and energy needs.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Read: Half of Gen Z spends $0 a month on dating thanks to a ‘romance recession’
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Paramount can likely remain a competitor on its own thanks to David Ellison’s passion for filmmaking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Unlike some of Nolan’s other films,” she wrote, “‘The Odyssey’ is not boring, thanks to the source material, which is impossible to mess up entirely.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
“I won’t, Grandma,” I said, “and thanks for the pie and milk.”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
In a social media post, Zelensky described his meeting with Trump as “good,” and thanked him for working with him to “protect the lives of Ukrainians and advance peace.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has thanked filmmaker Christopher Nolan for putting a modern spotlight on Ancient Greece with his hit movie "The Odyssey", his office said Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
What the new catalog and Mr. Robbins’s winsome biography should be thanked for is their attention to another facet of Zurbarán’s art—his facility with still life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
He thanked the president, but said there were "only three positions in the state - in addition to soldiers on the battlefield - which determine the course of the war: president, defence minister and commander-in-chief".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The reporter thanked Miss K for letting her visit—good story—great angle—sorry she couldn’t stay—mayor cutting ribbon for opening of new auto-parts shop—meeting of the school board.
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
But perhaps what elevates Pogacar to the top now is his respectful demeanour, paying tribute as he did in Paris to every one of his domestiques by name, before thanking his family.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
"I've been spending a lot of time with my family. I'm dealing with a cancer diagnosis, and I've been getting treatment, and it's been going really well," he said, thanking his well-wishers.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
In recent days, Rodríguez has been visiting field hospitals and thanking a list of some 30 foreign nations for health aid after the disaster.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
"Our loss has left an unimaginable hole in not only our lives but in the whole community," they said, thanking people for their "never-ending support and donations".
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
I can’t count the number of times we’ve been stopped by former students at restaurants, thanking her and telling me what a great teacher she was.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
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.
