thong

American  

[thawng, thong] / θɔŋ, θɒŋ /

noun

thongs plural

1. a strip of material, especially of leather or hide, used to fasten or secure something.

2. a strip of leather or hide used for whipping; whiplash.

3. a shoe or slipper fastened to the foot chiefly by a strip of leather or other material passing between the first and second toes and often attaching to another strip of material, as a strap across the instep or around the ankle.

4. a brief garment for the lower body that exposes the buttocks, consisting of a strip of fabric passing between the thighs and attached to a band around the waist.

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thong British  

/ θɒŋ /

noun

1. a thin strip of leather or other material, such as one used for lashing things together

2. a whip or whiplash, esp one made of leather

3. the usual name for flip-flop

4. 1. a skimpy article of beachwear, worn by men or women, consisting of thin strips of leather or cloth attached to a piece of material that covers the genitals while leaving the buttocks bare

   2. a similar item of underwear

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• thonged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• thongs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of thong

before 950; Middle English; Old English thwong; akin to Old Norse thvengr strap, thvinga to compel

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thong thongs

With that technique, the hand moves up and down, keeping the whip mostly in a vertical plane as the thong stretches toward a target in front.

From New York Times ● Oct. 4, 2022

Now think of all the trends that originated with those two: the selfie, purse dogs, contouring, thong heels, public awareness of and/or emotional investment in Kylie and Caitlyn Jenner, to name a few.

From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2022

Watching “Do It Debbie’s Way,” I picture a trio of women in 1983: Fisher posing in her iron thong, Reynolds lunging in her raspberry spandex, and Winters lounging in her oversized sweatshirt.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 9, 2019

Don’t wear thong underwear, for instance, because those garments “allow bacteria to travel easier to the urethra,” Berkeley explains.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 3, 2017

Mother hung a flashlight on a leather thong around Nhamo’s neck.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

The most standout looks so far have included bejeweled thongs, color-coordinated snapbacks and sneakers and pleated, baggy jorts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2025

It has been accused of adding extra stars to the New Zealand flag and of calling flipflops "thongs" rather than "jandals" in reference to some of the well-known differences between the two countries.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2023

For many women, after years of thongs and underwire bras, it was a relief to wear clothes that didn’t hurt.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 3, 2021

But it was odd being in a crowd that included men and women dressed to the nines as you’d expect at the opera, sitting next to families wearing shorts and thongs.

From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2017

Through these she ran leather thongs and tied them together.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George