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• thorn
  thorn

  noun

  a sharp excrescence on a plant, especially a sharp-pointed aborted branch; spine; prickle.
• Thorn
  Thorn

  noun

  German name of Toruń.

thorn

¹ American  

[thawrn] / θɔrn /

noun

• thorns
  plural

1. 

   a sharp excrescence on a plant, especially a sharp-pointed aborted branch; spine; prickle.

2. any of various thorny shrubs or trees, especially the hawthorns belonging to the genus Crataegus, of the rose family.

3. the wood of any of these trees.

4. a runic character (þ), borrowed into the Latin alphabet and representing the initial th sounds in thin and they in Old English, or thin in modern Icelandic.

5. something that wounds, annoys, or causes discomfort.

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verb (used with object)

1. to prick with a thorn; vex.

idioms

1. thorn in one's side / flesh, a source of continual irritation or suffering.

   That child is a thorn in the teacher's side.

Thorn ² American  

[tawrn] / tɔrn /

noun

1. German name of Toruń.

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thorn ¹ British  

/ θɔːn /

noun

1. a sharp pointed woody extension of a stem or leaf Compare prickle

2. 1. any of various trees or shrubs having thorns, esp the hawthorn

   2. the wood of any of these plants

3. short for thorn moth

4. a Germanic character of runic origin Þ used in Old and Modern Icelandic to represent the voiceless dental fricative sound of th, as in thin, bath. Its use in phonetics for the same purpose is now obsolete See theta

5. this same character as used in Old and Middle English as an alternative to edh, but indistinguishable from it in function or sound Compare edh

6. zoology any of various sharp spiny parts

7. a source of irritation (esp in the phrases a thorn in one's side or flesh )

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Thorn ² British  

/ toːrn /

noun

1. the German name for Toruń

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thorn Scientific  

/ thôrn /

1. A short, hard, pointed part of a stem or branch of a woody plant.

2. Compare spine

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unthorn
  verb (used with object)
• thornless
  adjective
• thornlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• thorns
  plural

Etymology

Origin of thorn

before 900; Middle English (noun), Old English; cognate with Dutch doorn, German Dorn, Old Norse thorn, Gothic thaurnus

Explanation

A thorn is a sharp spike that protrudes from the stem of a plant. Roses are famous for having the sweetest fragrance and the sharpest thorns. Literal thorns, found on bushes and other plants, serve to protect plants from animals that might like to eat them. A "thorn in one's side" is an annoyance or problem: "My neighbors are a thorn in my side, with their constant loud music and crazy parties!" The source of this figurative definition is the Bible's "thorn in the flesh."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thorn Thorn thorns

They eventually suspected that Masaya had a persistent abscess, possibly caused by an old injury from a thorn.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026

The former student leader has been a thorn in Beijing's side for more than a decade after shooting to prominence during the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

Agoura’s versatile George Hastings will try to be a thorn for Westlake on offense and defense.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

“Brazil has in fact become a thorn in the side—and a problem—for U.S. foreign policy,” said Rafael Cortez, a political scientist at São Paulo-based consulting firm Tendências.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

At the foot of the thorn tree, where they had tied him, the man had risen, still bound, to his knees.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

“I do believe this is a golden era for Dodger baseball,” Thorn said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

On guitar, Thorn offers a sound that can be as classic as you need it to be while immaculately executing new Whigsian concoctions.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

Michaels, frontman of 1980s band Poison -- of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" fame -- said Friday on Facebook that he made a "difficult decision to step away from this performance."

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

In 2025, Farage told the FT that fee had been paid to his company Thorn In The Side Limited.

From BBC ● May 18, 2026

Thorn gasped, Seven stared at Valley with her mouth agape, and then they both looked at the Gran, waiting for her to respond.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

Some have been more successful at that than others, and at times attorneys general on both sides of the aisle have been thorns in the side of the presidents they serve.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

You’re taking a promenade in a rose garden filled with thorns — forgive my “Bridgerton” evocation.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 6, 2026

Farmers cursed the plant as it dug its thorns into the legs of horses and cowboys.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025

Its poisonous thorns also injure livestock, leaving them too weak to roam for food, he added.

From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025

Once I caught at a bush to help me up...it was a prickly pear, and I had to spend precious minutes pulling out the thorns.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya