thread

[ thred ]

/ θrɛd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR thread 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.

Cookery. (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.

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

thread·er, noun thread·less, adjective thread·like, adjective mis·thread, verb

re·thread, verb self-thread·ing, adjective

Words nearby thread

thrasybulus, thrave, thraw, thrawart, thrawn, thread, thread blight, thread escutcheon, thread mark, thread rolling, thread rope

Example sentences from the Web for thread

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
Made from Japanese paper and thread, her rebozo is a critique of the condition of the planet and human behavior, the artist said.

Shining a Spotlight on Mexico’s Iconic Textile—the Rebozo |Liza Foreman |June 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
There will always be a thread between us, we have children together, that is very powerful.

The Price of Being a Patton: Wrestling With the Legacy of America’s Most Famous General |Tim Teeman |May 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

He's not the easiest actor to cast; the needle may be too difficult to thread.

Is This the End of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Comeback? |Andrew Romano |March 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The cane, K K, is fastened by thread as in the diagram; the thread can pass through a hole in the cork.

Toy-Making in School and Home |Ruby Kathleen Polkinghorne and Mabel Irene Rutherford Polkinghorne
He found her in the midst of tiny wisps of paper, thread, and wool, that had been her chief concern for three days past.

"Wee Tim'rous Beasties" |Douglas English
Next day Marusia went to the gathering, and took a ball of thread with her.

Russian Fairy Tales |W. R. S. Ralston
There is less danger of puckering the stuff if you hold it over two fingers (at least), keeping it taut and the thread loose.

Art in Needlework |Lewis F. Day
And then she stopped in her work, and looked at me, with her needle drawn out to its thread's length.

David Copperfield |Charles Dickens

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 piece from 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 whole the 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 thread she 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 pervade hysteria threaded his account

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

Derived forms of thread

threader, noun threadless, adjective threadlike, adjective

Word Origin for thread

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

Idioms and Phrases with thread

thread

see hang by a thread; lose the thread.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

thread

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of thread

OTHER WORDS FROM thread

Words nearby thread

Example sentences from the Web for thread

British Dictionary definitions for thread

noun

verb

Derived forms of thread

Word Origin for thread

Idioms and Phrases with thread

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

thread

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of thread

OTHER WORDS FROM thread

Words nearby thread

Words related to thread

Example sentences from the Web for thread

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for thread

noun

verb

Derived forms of thread

Word Origin for thread

Idioms and Phrases with thread

British Dictionary definitions for thread