thriller
Americannoun
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a person or thing that thrills.
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an exciting, suspenseful play or story, especially a mystery story.
noun
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a book, film, play, etc, depicting crime, mystery, or espionage in an atmosphere of excitement and suspense
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a person or thing that thrills
Discover More
In Great Britain, the word thriller is sometimes used for all mystery novels: “Martha Grimes, an American, writes British-style thrillers.”
Etymology
Origin of thriller
1885–90; 1920–25 thriller for def. 2; thrill + -er 1
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.
The Dodgers, who also boast Japanese pitcher and World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto, beat the Toronto Blue Jays in a seventh-game thriller last November to defend their title.
From Barron's
More than most Cold War thrillers, this true story offers genuine suspense—and genuine insight into Mitrokhin’s complex motivations.
Plaza admitted that while it might seem like a strange analogy, the setup of the sci-fi thriller felt much like her grief.
From MarketWatch
Loktev shot the film on an iPhone, which evokes a casual, intimate vibe — at least until the story accelerates into a thriller.
From Los Angeles Times
Leonardo DiCaprio's breathless action thriller, One Battle After Another, clinched best picture, while Paul Thomas Anderson took home best director.
From BBC
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.
