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Synonyms

thatch

1 American  
[thach] / θætʃ /

noun

  1. Also a material, as straw, rushes, leaves, or the like, used to cover roofs, grain stacks, etc.

  2. a covering of such a material.

  3. the leaves of various palms that are used for thatching.

  4. something resembling thatch on a roof, especially thick hair covering the head.

    a thatch of unruly red hair.

  5. 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)

  1. to cover with or as if with thatch.

  2. Horticulture. to remove thatch from (a lawn); dethatch.

Thatch 2 American  
[thach] / θætʃ /

noun

  1. Edward. Teach, Edward.

thatch British  
/ θætʃ /

noun

    1. Also called: thatching.  a roofing material that consists of straw, reed, etc

    2. a roof made of such a material

  2. anything resembling this, such as the hair of the head

  3. Also called: thatch palm.  any of various palms with leaves suitable for thatching

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to cover (a roof) with thatch

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • rethatch verb (used with object)
  • thatcher noun
  • thatchless adjective
  • thatchy adjective

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 ( deck ), German decken, Old Norse thekja; (noun) Middle English thacche, variant (with ch from the v.) of thak

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.

Does your house have a concrete roof or a thatched one?

From BBC

He had a messy thatch of brown hair and an Adam’s apple sharp as a teenager’s, but he was at least ten years older than me.

From Literature

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

Nothing would be left but dust, and chunks of limestone, and bits of thatch settling on the floor.

From Literature

I walked through a small village where chickens and gnomes were scattered among little houses with thatched roofs and smoking chimneys.

From Literature

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.