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Synonyms

through thick and thin

Cultural  

  1. To stay with someone or something “through thick and thin” is to persevere through good times as well as bad: “She stood beside her friend through thick and thin.”

through thick and thin Idioms  

  1. Despite all obstacles or adversities, as in She promised to stand by him through thick and thin. This term alludes to penetrating a forest with both thick and sparse undergrowth. Today it is nearly always used with the idea of supporting something or someone in all circumstances, as in the example. [Late 1300s]

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.

It needed supporters who cheered for their team through thick and thin, not curious, casual fans who came out to see whatever big-name player was passing through town but never came back.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

Employment there tends to grow through thick and thin, in part because of the growing needs of an aging population.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026

"Supporting them and letting them know that I will be there for them through thick and thin is very, very important, and Ben Duckett knows that."

From BBC • Dec. 24, 2025

I guarantee that the ever-growing, multi-partisan, pro-democracy army keeps working through thick and thin.

From Salon • Jul. 15, 2024

Even if it was 30 miles from the village, I’d go on my own, through thick and thin, through the forest and deserts.

From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola

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.