Adjacent Words

Thread definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

THREAD
THREAD'BARE
THREAD'BARENESS
THREAD'EN
THREAD'Y
THREAP, v.t. To chide, contend or argue. [Local.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a fine cord of twisted fibers (of cotton or silk or wool or nylon etc.) used in sewing and weaving [syn: thread, yarn]
2: any long object resembling a thin line; "a mere ribbon of land"; "the lighted ribbon of traffic"; "from the air the road was a grey thread"; "a thread of smoke climbed upward" [syn: ribbon, thread]
3: the connections that link the various parts of an event or argument together; "I couldn't follow his train of thought"; "he lost the thread of his argument" [syn: train of thought, thread]
4: the raised helical rib going around a screw [syn: screw thread, thread] v
1: to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course; "the river winds through the hills"; "the path meanders through the vineyards"; "sometimes, the gout wanders through the entire body" [syn: weave, wind, thread, meander, wander]
2: pass a thread through; "thread a needle"
3: remove facial hair by tying a fine string around it and pulling at the string; "She had her eyebrows threaded"
4: pass through or into; "thread tape"; "thread film"
5: thread on or as if on a string; "string pearls on a string"; "the child drew glass beads on a string"; "thread dried cranberries" [syn: string, thread, draw]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English thred, from Old English thr?d; akin to Old High German dr?t wire, Old English thr?wan to cause to twist or turn — more at throw Date: before 12th century 1. a. a filament, a group of filaments twisted together, or a filamentous length formed by spinning and twisting short textile fibers into a continuous strand b. a piece of thread 2. a. any of various natural filaments <the threads of a spiderweb> b. a slender stream (as of water) c. a projecting helical rib (as in a fitting or on a pipe) by which parts can be screwed together ; screw thread 3. something continuous or drawn out: as a. a line of reasoning or train of thought that connects the parts in a sequence (as of ideas or events) <lost the thread of the story> b. a continuing element <a thread of melancholy marked all his writing> c. a series of newsgroup messages following a single topic 4. a tenuous or feeble support <hung on by a thread> 5. plural clothing • threadless adjective • threadlike adjective II. verb Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to pass a thread through the eye of (a needle) b. to arrange a thread, yarn, or lead-in piece in working position for use in (a machine) 2. a. (1) to pass something through in the manner of a thread <thread a pipe with wire> (2) to pass (as a tape, line, or film) into or through something <threaded a fresh roll of film into the camera> b. to make one's way through or between <threading narrow alleys>; also to make one's way usually cautiously through a hazardous situation 3. to put together on or as if on a thread ; string <thread beads> 4. to interweave with or as if with threads ; intersperse <dark hair threaded with silver> 5. to form a screw thread on or in intransitive verb 1. weave 2 <the car threaded through traffic> 2. to form a thread • threader noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a a spun-out filament of cotton, silk, or glass etc.; yarn. b a length of this. 2 a thin cord of twisted yarns used esp. in sewing and weaving. 3 anything regarded as threadlike with reference to its continuity or connectedness (the thread of life; lost the thread of his argument). 4 the spiral ridge of a screw. 5 (in pl.) sl. clothes. 6 a thin seam or vein of ore. --v.tr. 1 pass a thread through the eye of (a needle). 2 put (beads) on a thread. 3 arrange (material in a strip form, e.g. film or magnetic tape) in the proper position on equipment. 4 make (one's way) carefully through a crowded place, over a difficult route, etc. 5 streak (hair etc.) as with threads. 6 form a screw-thread on. Phrases and idioms: hang by a thread be in a precarious state, position, etc. thread mark a mark in the form of a thin line made in banknote paper with highly coloured silk fibres to prevent photographic counterfeiting. Derivatives: threader n. threadlike adj. Etymology: OE thræd f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Thread Thread, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Threaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Threading.] 1. To pass a thread through the eye of; as, to thread a needle. 2. To pass or pierce through as a narrow way; also, to effect or make, as one's way, through or between obstacles; to thrid. Heavy trading ships . . . threading the Bosphorus. --Mitford. They would not thread the gates. --Shak. 3. To form a thread, or spiral rib, on or in; as, to thread a screw or nut.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Thread Thread (thr[e^]d), n. [OE. threed, [thorn]red, AS. [thorn]r[=ae]d; akin to D. draad, G. draht wire, thread, OHG. dr[=a]t, Icel. [thorn]r[=a][eth]r a thread, Sw. tr[*a]d, Dan. traad, and AS. [thorn]r[=a]wan to twist. See Throw, and cf. Third.] 1. A very small twist of flax, wool, cotton, silk, or other fibrous substance, drawn out to considerable length; a compound cord consisting of two or more single yarns doubled, or joined together, and twisted. 2. A filament, as of a flower, or of any fibrous substance, as of bark; also, a line of gold or silver. 3. The prominent part of the spiral of a screw or nut; the rib. See Screw, n., 1. 4. Fig.: Something continued in a long course or tenor; a,s the thread of life, or of a discourse. --Bp. Burnet. 5. Fig.: Composition; quality; fineness. [Obs.] A neat courtier, Of a most elegant thread. --B. Jonson. Air thread, the fine white filaments which are seen floating in the air in summer, the production of spiders; gossamer. Thread and thrum, the good and bad together. [Obs.] --Shak. Thread cell (Zo["o]l.), a lasso cell. See under Lasso. Thread herring (Zo["o]l.), the gizzard shad. See under Gizzard. Thread lace, lace made of linen thread. Thread needle, a game in which children stand in a row, joining hands, and in which the outer one, still holding his neighbor, runs between the others; -- called also thread the needle.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(threads, threading, threaded) 1. Thread or a thread is a long very thin piece of a material such as cotton, nylon, or silk, especially one that is used in sewing. ...a tiny Nepalese hat embroidered with golden threads. N-VAR 2. The thread of an argument, a story, or a situation is an aspect of it that connects all the different parts together. The thread running through many of these proposals was the theme of individual power and opportunity... N-COUNT: usu with supp 3. A thread of something such as liquid, light, or colour is a long thin line or piece of it. A thin, glistening thread of moisture ran along the rough concrete sill. N-COUNT: usu N of n 4. The thread on a screw, or on something such as a lid or a pipe, is the raised spiral line of metal or plastic around it which allows it to be fixed in place by twisting. The screw threads will be able to get a good grip. N-COUNT 5. If you thread your way through a group of people or things, or thread through it, you move through it carefully or slowly, changing direction frequently as you move. Slowly she threaded her way back through the moving mass of bodies... We threaded through a network of back streets. VERB: V way prep/adv, V prep 6. If you thread a long thin object through something, you pass it through one or more holes or narrow spaces. ...threading the laces through the eyelets of his shoes... Instruments developed at the hospital allow doctors to thread microscopic telescopes into the digestive tract. VERB: V n through n, V n into n 7. If you thread small objects such as beads onto a string or thread, you join them together by pushing the string through them. Wipe the mushrooms clean and thread them on a string. VERB: V n prep 8. When you thread a needle, you put a piece of thread through the hole in the top of the needle in order to sew with it. I sit down, thread a needle, snip off an old button. VERB: V n 9. If you say that something is hanging by a thread, you mean that it is in a very uncertain state and is unlikely to survive or succeed. The fragile peace was hanging by a thread as thousands of hardliners took to the streets. PHRASE: V inflects 10. If you pick up the threads of an activity, you start it again after an interruption. If you pick up the threads of your life, you become more active again after a period of failure or bad luck. Many women have been able to pick up the threads of their former career. PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Filament, fibre, small string, slender cord. 2. Filament, fibre, pile, staple. 3. Course, tenor, drift. II. v. a. Thrid, go through, pass through.

Moby Thesaurus

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