thou
1 Americanpronoun
-
you,
plural, objective
-
ye,
plural, objective
-
thee,
objective
-
thy,
possessive
-
thine,
possessive
-
your,
possessive
-
yours
possessive
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
thous,
plural
-
thou
plural
pronoun
-
archaic refers to the person addressed: used mainly in familiar address or to a younger person or inferior
-
(usually capital) refers to God when addressed in prayer, etc
noun
-
one thousandth of an inch. 1 thou is equal to 0.0254 millimetre
-
informal short for thousand
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of thou1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English thū; cognate with German, Middle Dutch du, Old Norse thū, Gothic thu, Old Irish tú, Welsh, Cornish ti, Latin tū, Doric Greek tý, Lithuanian tù, Old Church Slavonic ty; akin to Sanskrit tvam; (verb) late Middle English thowen, derivative of the pronoun
Origin of thou2
First recorded in 1865–70; by shortening
Explanation
The word thou, used in place of "you," is not used much in modern language. In fact, with its Biblical feeling, it’s most often used in religious contexts. Otherwise, it might be used as slang for thousand. Anyone familiar with the Bible knows the word thou means "you." As the word worked its way from Old English, it varied a little in its subtext, from a plural referring to higher-ups, then to equals, and, around 1450, as a slightly insulting reference suggesting inferiority. Today, it's used primarily by specific religious groups, or as a somewhat affected, archaic word in poetry. As a side note, if someone asks you for a thou, they mean a thousand dollars.
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:
“It shouldn’t be this black box that we say, ‘Verily thou shalt, and then that’s the answer.’”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Ecclesiastes 11:1: “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 7, 2026
Some referred to the commandment "thou shalt not kill".
From BBC ● May 13, 2025
“When I do it, I'm trying not to be holier than thou in every way that I can. And I fail at that a fair amount.”
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2024
My old gentlemen felt that these words were very important too—‘Thou shalt’ and ‘Do thou.’
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
An unpublished short story by Charlotte Brontë featuring flogging and embezzling, as well as a poem stuffed with thees and thous, have been discovered inside a book owned by the novelist’s mother.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 12, 2015
This is precisely the sort of diction that Tagore chose for the English Gitanjali, which, with its thees and thous, has so tried our patience.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 8, 2011
This mostly felicitous British rendition updates the New English Bible of 1970, shedding thees and thous and many male nouns and pronouns.
From Time Magazine Archive
Well, first you would change the thees, the thous, the thys and the thines.
From Time Magazine Archive
I like the Quaker speech: the gentle intimacy of their "little language," with its quaint "thees" and "thous," and the curious turn they give to their verbs, disregarding the formalities of grammar.
From Days Off And Other Digressions by Henry Van Dyke
Get thee to a department store for some soft furnishings.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 3, 2026
Like Donne, we can mine wisdom from the frailty of our mortal bodies—but be grateful that when the bell tolls for thee, plague, smallpox and typhus won’t be to blame.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
We are into the first of thee added minutes at the end of the first half.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2024
The felony charges against Gutierrez-Reed carry a possible sentence of up to thee years in prison.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 6, 2024
“And now thee can both have supper with me again,” said Hannah, delighted as a child at the prospect of a party.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
The book is signed on the inside front cover in black ballpoint pen by Sir Paul, reading: "All the best! to ye!"
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
The former is known for promoting evangelism, as seen in Jesus’ directive in Mark 16:15: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Searching for a way back to their inn, they discover, you guessed it, ye olde Craigh na Dun.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2025
Ho quoted from the Bible, Matthew 7:7—“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
From Salon ● May 19, 2024
As you know, the gift we sent, the carved gemstone, is not simply an artifact of ye olden days.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
“She said that things get responded to when you call her personally,” Raman said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
You may find soft pink, mauve and lilac relaxing, or you may find yellows and reds more vibrant and lift your mood.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
"When you have their trust, animals can do a lot of things."
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
“When you have imports like that, there is a possibility that they are already manufacturing or that they are trying and it doesn’t really work out,” said Fabian Hinz, senior analyst at Conflict Armament.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
If you get eleven negatives and one positive, the requirement resets back to square one.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
All of those candidate contortions bring to mind a line from Hamlet: To thine own self be true.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2024
“That was what my mama always used to say: to thine own self be true. I put a lot of stock in that,” she told The Guardian.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2023
For thine is the kingdom,The power, and the glory, For ever and ever.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2022
We continually talk about loving thine enemy, but really, just try to understand and forgive people you literally couldn’t stand at all just a little while ago.
From New York Times ● Aug. 25, 2021
“Soon thou’lt be carrying thine own harp, God willing.”
From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli
Talarico has made the New Testament command to love thy neighbor a centerpiece of his campaign.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Thou art risen to great estate and fortune — release thy shackles.
From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026
The Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday is from the sixth chapter of Matthew—the chapter in which Jesus teaches the disciples to recite the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
He offered words of wisdom for Thanksgiving: “Always do thy duty, which is best, leave unto the Lord the rest.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2025
“The great and holy Rabban Gamaliel,” he said, “taught us the following: ‘Do His will as if it were thy will, that He may do thy will as if it were His will.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
“Do the residents of Boyle Heights have your number?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
You may find soft pink, mauve and lilac relaxing, or you may find yellows and reds more vibrant and lift your mood.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Weak passwords, outdated software and poor Wi-Fi security can let strangers access your home camera.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
“I made a deal with you four years ago because you had so many problems with your constituents, and I offered to take care of your constituents,” Bass said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Candie rubs his arm gently and says, “That’s right, Earl, you can throw down in the kitchen—throw down your apron and call Pizza Hut.”
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
It might feel bad seeing other kids being shuttled from hobby to hobby, but that doesn’t mean you’re doing a bad job as a parent because yours must pick one at a time.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
"Passwords have not been stolen, so be highly suspicious of any unsolicited text or email asking you to change or share yours," said Trevor Dearing, Senior Director of Critical Infrastructure at Illumio.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
It’s not yours anymore in ways that are a relief, but also in ways that are difficult.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
But they’re not going to figure out an account is yours if there’s genuinely nothing connecting it to you.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
“I assume it’s yours? I’ve put it in your brother’s room.”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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.
