thread

[ thred ]

/ θrɛd /

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See synonyms for: thread / threaded / threading / threads on Thesaurus.com

noun

a fine cord of flax, cotton, or other fibrous material spun out to considerable length, especially when composed of two or more filaments twisted together.

twisted filaments or fibers of any kind used for sewing.

one of the lengths of yarn forming the warp or weft of a woven fabric.

a filament or fiber of glass or other ductile substance.

Ropemaking.

any of a number of fibers twisted into a yarn.
a yarn, especially as enumerated in describing small stuff.

something having the fineness or slenderness of a filament, as a thin continuous stream of liquid, a fine line of color, or a thin seam of ore: a thread of smoke.

the helical ridge of a screw.

that which runs through the whole course of something, connecting successive parts: I lost the thread of the story.

something conceived as being spun or continuously drawn out, as the course of life fabled to be spun, measured, and cut by the Fates.

Digital Technology. a series of posts and responses on a message board or electronic mailing list that deal with the same subject and are grouped together.

threads, Slang. clothes.

verb (used with object)

to pass the end of a thread through the eye of (a needle).

to fix (beads, pearls, etc.) upon a thread that is passed through; string.

to pass continuously through the whole course of (something); pervade: A joyous quality threaded the whole symphony.

to make one's way through (a narrow passage, forest, crowd, etc.).

to make (one's way) thus: He threaded his way through the crowd.

to form a thread on or in (a bolt, hole, etc.).

to place and arrange thread, yarn, etc., in position on (a sewing machine, loom, textile machine, etc.).

to remove (facial hair, especially eyebrow hair) by using a looped and twisted thread to roll over the hair and lift it from the follicles.

verb (used without object)

to thread one's way, as through a passage or between obstacles: They threaded carefully along the narrow pass.

to move in a threadlike course; wind or twine.

Cooking. (of boiling syrup) to form a fine thread when poured from a spoon.

to remove facial hair, especially from the eyebrows, by using a looped and twisted thread.

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Origin of thread

before 900; (noun) Middle English threed,Old English thrǣd; cognate with Dutch draad,German Draht,Old Norse thrathr wire; (v.) Middle English threeden, derivative of the noun See throw

OTHER WORDS FROM thread

threader, nounthreadless, adjectivethreadlike, adjectivemis·thread, verb

re·thread, verbself-threading, adjective

Words nearby thread

Thrasybulus, thrave, thraw, thrawart, thrawn, thread, threadbare, thread blight, threaded, threaded glass, thread escutcheon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use thread in a sentence

Founded in 2016, Neuralink is a neuroscience technology company focused on building systems with super-thin threads that carry electrodes.
Elon Musk is one step closer to connecting a computer to your brain|Rebecca Heilweil|August 28, 2020|Vox
Create threads under your original Voice Tweets with transcriptions to improve accessibility and utilize SEO keywords.
Top five tips to use Twitter’s new Voice Tweets feature|David Ciccarelli|August 25, 2020|Search Engine Watch
An important thread in developing this technology began with the American mathematician and AI pioneer Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Bledsoe.
The Bias in the Machine - Issue 89: The Dark Side|Sidney Perkowitz|August 19, 2020|Nautilus
Some carriers on the Reddit thread reported anxiety over the pandemic, including one who asked customers to stay inside their houses until their packages have been delivered.
U.S. Postal Service carriers reveal how you can make their day better|Jeff|August 18, 2020|Fortune

Modern supply chains are fluid and elaborate, ever shifting to account for minute changes in the price of screws, thread, or copper wire.
Unmade in America|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 14, 2020|MIT Technology Review
They are always suspended over a precipice, dangling by a slender thread that shows every sign of snapping.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Redlich noted that this is another common thread in false confessions.
How the U.S. Justice System Screws Prisoners with Disabilities|Elizabeth Picciuto|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Colfer's artistic callings share a common thread: they are deeply personal and rooted in a challenging childhood.
Chris Colfer on Writing, Acting, and the Pain of Being A Pop Culture Trailblazer|Oliver Jones|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There, he first picked up needle and thread to mend the shirt of an SS guard who had just beaten him.
From Auschwitz to the White House: One Tailor’s American Tale|Martin Greenfield|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Malaysian airlines In the Reddit thread “What is the Best ‘Too Soon’ costume for Halloween?”
Sexy Ebola Nurse & More of the Year’s Worst Halloween Costumes|Kevin Fallon|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But it was the labyrinth for which the earlier economist held, so he thought, the thread.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
The organism is an actively motile spiral thread, about four times the diameter of a red corpuscle in length.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
I shall then give an account of my various excursions in an Appendix, and afterwards resume the thread of my journal.
A Woman's Journey Round the World|Ida Pfeiffer
Its anterior portion is slender and thread-like, while the posterior portion is thicker (Fig. 112).
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Spirochte pallida is an extremely slender, spiral, motile thread, with pointed ends.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for thread

thread

/ (θrɛd) /

noun

a fine strand, filament or fibre of some material

a fine cord of twisted filaments, esp of cotton, used in sewing, weaving, etc

any of the filaments of which a spider's web is made

any fine line, stream, mark, or piecefrom the air, the path was a thread of white

a helical groove in a cylindrical hole (female thread), formed by a tap or lathe tool, or a helical ridge on a cylindrical bar, rod, shank, etc (male thread), formed by a die or lathe tool

a very thin seam of coal or vein of ore

something acting as the continuous link or theme of a wholethe thread of the story

the course of an individual's life believed in Greek mythology to be spun, measured, and cut by the Fates

verb

(tr) to pass (thread, film, magnetic tape, etc) through (something)to thread a needle; to thread cotton through a needle

(tr) to string on a threadshe threaded the beads

to make (one's way) through or over (something)

(tr) to produce a screw thread by cutting, rolling, tapping, or grinding

(tr) to pervadehysteria threaded his account

(intr) (of boiling syrup) to form a fine thread when poured from a spoon

Derived forms of thread

threader, nounthreadless, adjectivethreadlike, adjective

Word Origin for thread

Old English thrǣd; related to Old Frisian thrēd, Old High German drāt, Old Norse thrāthr thread

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with thread

thread

see hang by a thread; lose the thread.

thread

Origin of thread

OTHER WORDS FROM thread

Words nearby thread

Words related to thread

How to use thread in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for thread

Derived forms of thread

Word Origin for thread

Other Idioms and Phrases with thread