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thickset

[adjective thik-set; noun thik-set]
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adjective
  1. set thickly or in close arrangement; dense: a thickset hedge.
  2. studded, or furnished thickly; closely packed: a sky thickset with stars.
  3. heavily or solidly built; stocky: a thickset young man.
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noun
  1. a thicket.
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Origin of thickset

1325–75; Middle English thikke sette. See thick (adv.), set
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for thickset

Historical Examples

  • He was considerably under the average height, but thickset and strong.

    The Kentucky Ranger

    Edward T. Curnick

  • By his side was a short, thickset man with dark, sallow features.

    The River of Darkness

    William Murray Graydon

  • Rao Khan was a short, thickset man, with a round, smooth face.

    The River of Darkness

    William Murray Graydon

  • But they did not see him just at first because of his short, thickset stature.

    The Gods are Athirst

    Anatole France

  • The thickset, young man remuttered the period that they were there for the stuff.

    Mountain Blood

    Joseph Hergesheimer

British Dictionary definitions for thickset

thickset

adjective
  1. stocky in build; sturdy
  2. densely planted or placed
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noun
  1. a rare word for thicket
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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

Word Origin and History for thickset

adj.

mid-14c., thikke sette "with parts or things set close together" (of grass on a sward, etc.), from thick + set (v.). Meaning "stocky, strong and square-built" is recorded from 1724.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper