Meaning & use
thick
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Having a large measurement from one side to the opposite side, so that it is not thin.
Grammar: Can follow a measurement: the wall is two feet thick. It also goes before a noun: a thick book.
Patterns
- measurement + thick
- thick with something
She wore a thick coat against the wind.
The ice was only two inches thick.
He cut a thick slice of bread.
adjectivecomparable
Growing close together in large numbers or quantity, as hair, trees or fog.
Grammar: Used about things packed densely: thick hair, a thick forest.
The thick forest blocked out most of the light.
He has thick dark hair.
A thick fog hung over the harbor.
adjectivecomparable
Stiff and slow to flow, as a liquid with little runniness.
Grammar: Describes liquids and mixtures: thick soup, thick paint.
Stir until the sauce is thick and creamy.
The paint was too thick to spread evenly.
Mud made the stream thick and brown.
adjectiveafter a verb
Full of something, often an unpleasant amount of it.
Grammar: Always followed by with: the air was thick with smoke.
Patterns
- thick with something
The air was thick with smoke after the fire.
The room was thick with tension.
The ground was thick with fallen leaves.
adjectivecomparableinformalBritishdisapproving
Slow to understand things; not clever.
Grammar: Used about people in a rude, informal way; avoid it in polite settings.
I felt thick for missing the obvious answer.
Don't be so thick, it's written on the door.
He isn't thick, just tired.
Word forms
| comparative | thicker |
|---|---|
| superlative | thickest |
Common combinations
- thick fog
- Thick fog delayed all morning flights.
- thick accent
- He spoke with a thick Scottish accent.
- thick skin
- Politicians need thick skin to survive criticism.
- thick with smoke
- The kitchen was thick with smoke.
- thick as thieves
- The two brothers are thick as thieves.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dense
- It stresses how tightly packed something is, and is the better choice for forests, crowds and fog.
- chunky
- It suggests a solid, bulky look and is used informally for clothes and food.
- viscous
- It is a technical word for slow-flowing liquids, and sounds more scientific than thick.
- stupid
- It is a stronger insult than thick and applies to people only.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: thick or fat?
thick vs fat
Fat describes bodies and things with a lot of flesh or content, while thick describes the distance through any object; call a book thick, not fat, in careful writing.
Practice
The soup was so ___ that the spoon stood up in it.
Choose one answer.
Thick describes a stiff liquid that barely flows. Thin is the opposite, and sparse and narrow do not describe soup.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thick”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.