thigh
Americannoun
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thighs
plural
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the part of the lower limb in humans between the hip and the knee.
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the corresponding part of the hind limb of other animals; the femoral region.
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(in birds)
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the true femoral region that is hidden by the skin or feathers of the body.
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the segment below, containing the fibula and tibia.
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Entomology. the femur.
noun
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the part of the leg between the hip and the knee in man
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the corresponding part in other vertebrates and insects
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of thigh
before 900; Middle English thi, thigh ( e ), the ( h ), Old English thīoh, thēoh; cognate with Dutch dij, Old High German dioh, Old Norse thjō
Explanation
Your thigh is the part of your leg between your hip and your knee. Your thighs are probably the strongest parts of your body. Humans' thighs have just one extremely strong bone, the femur, and many muscles, including the hamstrings and quadriceps. Your thigh is joined to your torsos with a ball-and-socket hip joint, and to your lower leg by the hinge joint of a knee. The word thigh comes from a Germanic source that means "the thick or fat part of the leg."
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.
See Examples For:
“I got all the practice pants, the helmets, the thigh boards, everything,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Their goal was to estimate how much stress gravity and body weight placed on the femur, or thigh bone, when each dinosaur shifted its weight onto its hind legs.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
As the burn would not heal by itself, he has required a graft, where skin was taken from his thigh and then applied to his chest.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
Beside him, Rama Adam Ibrahim, 17, has just received a skin graft taken from his thigh to reconstruct the skin of his right foot.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
“Come into money, have you?” he cried, chuckling and slapping his thigh with a loud report.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
She clutches her thighs, then her chair, crying and occasionally looking up at the sky, as if searching for answers.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Although semaglutide is widely used, a key issue with the drug is that it needs to be injected into the belly, thighs or back of the arm.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026
Essentially a massive skillet, a good griddle can just as easily turn out pancakes for breakfast, paninis for lunch, or, yes, chicken thighs for dinner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
The Ghanaian-owned butcher shop down the street is where I go for halal chicken wings and thighs.
From Salon ● May 22, 2026
Bernal Heights definitely lived up to its name—Rishi’s thighs were burning from scaling the thing.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
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.
