thicken

[thik-uhn]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to make or become thick or thicker.

2. to make or grow more intense, profound, intricate, or complex.

   The plot thickens.

thicken

/ ˈθɪkən /

verb

1. to make or become thick or thicker

   thicken the soup by adding flour

2. (intr) to become more involved

   the plot thickened

Other Word Forms

• rethicken verb
• unthicken verb (used with object)
• thickener noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of thicken¹

1375–1425; late Middle English thiknen < Old Norse thykkna. See thick, -en ¹

Example Sentences

As Mr. Carlsson thickens the atmosphere, he keeps our attention fixed on crimes that are distant in time yet critically linked.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

These included a mastectomy and lymph node procedure performed in 28 minutes, and an excision of benign thickened breast tissue in 10 minutes, "which the review team considered to have been unnecessary".

Read more on BBC

Weeks later the chest still pounds, the throat still thickens, the mind still has not completely grasped.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

So, this particular gravy was a lightly sweetened pan sauce — aromatic, comforting and thickened with nuts instead of flour.

Read more on Salon

By the time the web arrived, many jobs—especially in knowledge work—had thickened.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• clot 
• condense 
• congeal 
• curdle 
• swell