thread
Americannoun
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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.
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twisted filaments or fibers of any kind used for sewing.
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one of the lengths of yarn forming the warp or weft of a woven fabric.
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a filament or fiber of glass or other ductile substance.
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Ropemaking.
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any of a number of fibers twisted into a yarn.
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a yarn, especially as enumerated in describing small stuff.
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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.
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the helical ridge of a screw.
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that which runs through the whole course of something, connecting successive parts.
I lost the thread of the story.
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something conceived as being spun or continuously drawn out, as the course of life fabled to be spun, measured, and cut by the Fates.
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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.
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Slang. threads, clothes.
verb (used with object)
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to pass the end of a thread through the eye of (a needle).
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to fix (beads, pearls, etc.) upon a thread that is passed through; string.
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to pass continuously through the whole course of (something); pervade.
A joyous quality threaded the whole symphony.
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to make one's way through (a narrow passage, forest, crowd, etc.).
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to make (one's way) thus.
He threaded his way through the crowd.
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to form a thread on or in (a bolt, hole, etc.).
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to place and arrange thread, yarn, etc., in position on (a sewing machine, loom, textile machine, etc.).
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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)
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to thread one's way, as through a passage or between obstacles.
They threaded carefully along the narrow pass.
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to move in a threadlike course; wind or twine.
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Cooking. (of boiling syrup) to form a fine thread when poured from a spoon.
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to remove facial hair, especially from the eyebrows, by using a looped and twisted thread.
noun
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a fine strand, filament or fibre of some material
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a fine cord of twisted filaments, esp of cotton, used in sewing, weaving, etc
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any of the filaments of which a spider's web is made
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any fine line, stream, mark, or piece
from the air, the path was a thread of white
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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
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a very thin seam of coal or vein of ore
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something acting as the continuous link or theme of a whole
the thread of the story
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the course of an individual's life believed in Greek mythology to be spun, measured, and cut by the Fates
verb
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(tr) to pass (thread, film, magnetic tape, etc) through (something)
to thread a needle
to thread cotton through a needle
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(tr) to string on a thread
she threaded the beads
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to make (one's way) through or over (something)
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(tr) to produce a screw thread by cutting, rolling, tapping, or grinding
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(tr) to pervade
hysteria threaded his account
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(intr) (of boiling syrup) to form a fine thread when poured from a spoon
Other Word Forms
- misthread verb
- rethread verb
- self-threading adjective
- threader noun
- threadless adjective
- threadlike adjective
Etymology
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
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.
"More young people are asking questions: how it's made, where it comes from," he told AFP as he guided a thread through a wooden loom.
From Barron's
Dr. Muhsen Abdullah, the surgeon who heads the emergency room, spoke with a weary tone of a ward without surgical thread or stitches, and anesthesiologists forced to ask patients to purchase their own anesthetic.
From Los Angeles Times
Discover how to identify the symptoms of digital exhaustion and implement his “single thread living” strategy to stay productive in our always-on world.
From Los Angeles Times
“It’s our last, very thin thread of hope to have somebody take a look at this, because the numbers just did not add up for us,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times
I open each of our individual text threads, but we hardly use those.
From Literature
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.
