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thymic

1 American  
[tahy-mik, thahy-mik] / ˈtaɪ mɪk, ˈθaɪ mɪk /

adjective

  1. pertaining to or derived from thyme.

thymic 2 American  
[thahy-mik] / ˈθaɪ mɪk /

adjective

  1. of or relating to the thymus.

thymic British  
/ ˈθaɪmɪk /

adjective

  1. of or relating to the thymus

"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

Etymology

Origin of thymic1

First recorded in 1865–70; thyme + -ic

Origin of thymic2

First recorded in 1650–60; thym(us) + -ic

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.

"We're engineering the body to mimic thymic factor secretion."

From Science Daily • Dec. 29, 2025

This process is called thymic involution, and it reduces the body's ability to produce new T cells.

From Science Daily • Dec. 29, 2025

Animal studies have shown that transplanted thymic grafts between inbred strains of mice involuted according to the age of the donor and not of the recipient, implying the process is genetically programmed.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

In a process known as positive selection, double-negative thymocytes bind to the MHC molecules they observe on the thymic epithelia, and the MHC molecules of “self” are selected.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The thymic face frequently stamps its possessor at sight.

From The Glands Regulating Personality by Berman, Louis, M.D.

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.