thresh

[ thresh ]

/ θrɛʃ /

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See synonyms for: thresh / threshing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to separate the grain or seeds from (a cereal plant or the like) by some mechanical means, as by beating with a flail or by the action of a threshing machine.

to beat as if with a flail.

verb (used without object)

to thresh wheat, grain, etc.

to deliver blows as if with a flail.

noun

the act of threshing.

Verb Phrases

thresh out / over thrash (def. 12).

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Also thrash.

Origin of thresh

before 900; Middle English threschen, thresshen,Old English threscan; cognate with German dreschen,Gothic thriskan; akin to Dutch dorsen,Old Norse thriskja

OTHER WORDS FROM thresh

re·thresh, verb (used with object)un·threshed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH thresh

thrash, thresh

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

How to use thresh in a sentence

Its backbone should be the study of biology and its substance should be the threshing out of the burning questions of our day.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
And when they came unto the threshing-floor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the Ark; for the oxen stumbled.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline|Jennie M. Drinkwater
The cause of it was that the French owner had brought a threshing machine and was threshing out his wheat.
Letters of Lt.-Col. George Brenton Laurie|George Brenton Laurie
Over the good things at our corner table we did a little threshing on our own account—and got a lot more chaff and no grain.
The Wreckers|Francis Lynde

There was no decent shelter to be found and so I gladly set up my bed on the threshing floor, and slept under the starry sky.
Silver Chimes in Syria|W. S. Nelson

British Dictionary definitions for thresh

thresh

/ (θrɛʃ) /

verb

to beat or rub stalks of ripe corn or a similar crop either with a hand implement or a machine to separate the grain from the husks and straw

(tr) to beat or strike

(intr often foll by about) to toss and turn; thrash

noun

the act of threshing

Word Origin for thresh

Old English threscan; related to Gothic thriskan, Old Norse thriskja; see thrash

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

thresh

Origin of thresh

OTHER WORDS FROM thresh

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH thresh

Words related to thresh

How to use thresh in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for thresh

Word Origin for thresh