Synonyms

the thing

Idioms

Also, the in thing. Something in style or vogue, the latest trend. For example, Wearing oversized clothes is the thing these days, or Vans and sports utility vehicles have been the in thing for some time now. The first term dates from the mid-1700s; the second, which uses in in the sense of “popular,” dates from the mid-1900s. Also see the latest.

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.

“It is distracting. Often you’re just buying the problems of the thing that was there.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Ford dreamed up the atomic-age Nucleon, powered by a tiny nugget of uranium and incidentally requiring tons of lead shielding to protect anyone who came within a football field of the thing.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

But TurboQuant doesn’t look like it will be the thing that kills the momentum.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

Quite the thing to say less than two years on from a landslide general election victory.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

“This is the thing my blood keens for—to protect something worth protecting.”

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023