Thorndike

American  

[thawrn-dahyk] / ˈθɔrnˌdaɪk /

noun

1. Ashley Horace, 1871–1933, U.S. literary historian and teacher.

2. Edward Lee, 1874–1949, U.S. psychologist and lexicographer.

3. (Everett) Lynn, 1882–1965, U.S. historian and scholar (brother of Ashley Horace Thorndike).

4. Dame Sybil, 1882–1976, English actress.

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Thorndike British  

/ ˈθɔːnˌdaɪk /

noun

1. Edward Lee. 1874–1949, US psychologist, who worked on animals and proposed that all learnt behaviour is regulated by rewards and punishments ( Thorndike's law or law of effect )

2. Dame ( Agnes ) Sybil . 1882–1976, British actress

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Example Sentences

Founded in Philadelphia and chaired by Jack Bogle, who later founded Vanguard, Wellington merged with Boston’s Thorndike, Doran, Paine & Lewis in 1967.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

"We're all about remembrance and education," says David Thorndike, who was a 10-year-old boy when the B-17s collided near Canvey and remembers the immediate aftermath.

From BBC • May 18, 2024

Then there’s the phantom of “The Shining,” a film Thorndike aspires to summon, down to the creepy joggers who might as well be Kubrick’s menacing girls in grown-up athleisure wear.

From New York Times • Aug. 18, 2023

They also embraced the new field of psychological testing, offering tests that measured aptitude and not achievement, such as the Thorndike Tests for Mental Alertness.

From National Geographic • Jul. 28, 2023

Miss Erma Thorndike wins first place in the Miss Corn Cob contest.

From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper