- present tense form of thank (3rd person singular).
thanks
Britishplural noun
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an expression of appreciation or gratitude or an acknowledgment of services or favours given
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because of
thanks to him we lost the match
interjection
Explanation
Thanks means gratitude or recognition in response to someone acting in a kind or generous way. If your favorite teacher retires, you might throw a big party for her as a way of giving thanks. Thanks is also common shorthand for "thank you," so you can say, "Thanks for helping me shovel snow this morning" or "No thanks, I'm not a fan of fudge." You may hear it used sarcastically, too: "Thanks a lot for pulling my chair out from under me." And thanks to means "as a result of" or "with the help of." Thanks to your good study habits, you're learning a lot of new vocabulary words!
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 earlier you start saving the more you can build up thanks to the magic of compound interest.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Most of the thanks goes to three-year starter Thomas and his dynamic performances.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
At the same time, he says, young adults are dealing with parents who are understandably more anxious thanks to an increasingly uncertain world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Years of economic crisis, underinvestment and political turmoil have hollowed out once thriving communities, with many homes left empty thanks to mass emigration.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
By 2011, the West African black rhino was officially declared extinct, thanks to poachers who mercilessly killed them for their horns—which people then use for decorative carvings and grind into powder for medicines.
From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh
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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.