(~er, ~est)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
Something that is ~ has a large distance between its two opposite sides.
For breakfast I had a ~ slice of bread and syrup...
This material is very ~ and this needle is not strong enough to go through it.
? thin
ADJ
~ly
Slice the meat ~ly.
ADV: ADV with v
2.
You can use ~ to talk or ask about how wide or deep something is.
The folder was two inches ~...
How ~ are these walls?
ADJ: n ADJ, how ADJ, amount ADJ, as ADJ as
•
Thick is also a combining form.
His life was saved by a quarter-inch-~ bullet-proof steel screen.
COMB in ADJ: ADJ n
~ness (~nesses)
The size of the fish will determine the ~ness of the steaks...
N-VAR: oft N of n, N of amount, amount in N
3.
If something that consists of several things is ~, it has a large number of them very close together.
She inherited our father’s ~, wavy hair...
They walked through ~ forest.
= dense
ADJ
~ly
I rounded a bend where the trees and brush grew ~ly...
ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed
4.
If something is ~ with another thing, the first thing is full of or covered with the second.
The air is ~ with acrid smoke from the fires...
ADJ: v-link ADJ with n
5.
Thick clothes are made from heavy cloth, so that they will keep you warm in cold weather.
In the winter she wears ~ socks, Wellington boots and gloves...
? thin
ADJ
6.
Thick smoke, fog, or cloud is difficult to see through.
The smoke was bluish-black and ~...
ADJ
7.
Thick liquids are fairly stiff and solid and do not flow easily.
They had to battle through ~ mud to reach construction workers...
ADJ
8.
If someone’s voice is ~, they are not speaking clearly, for example because they are ill, upset, or drunk.
When he spoke his voice was ~ with bitterness.
ADJ: usu v-link ADJ
~ly
‘It’s all my fault,’ he mumbled ~ly.
ADV: ADV after v
9.
A ~ accent is very obvious and easy to identify.
He answered our questions in English but with a ~ accent...
= strong
ADJ: usu ADJ n
10.
If you describe someone as ~, you think they are stupid. (BRIT INFORMAL)
How could she have been so ~?
= stupid
ADJ: usu v-link ADJ disapproval
11.
If things happen ~ and fast, they happen very quickly and in large numbers.
The rumours have been coming ~ and fast...
PHRASE: PHR after v
12.
If you are in the ~ of an activity or situation, you are very involved in it.
I enjoy being in the ~ of things...
PHRASE: PHR n, usu v-link PHR, PHR after v
13.
If you do something through ~ and thin, you do it although the conditions or circumstances are very bad.
She’d stuck by Bob through ~ and thin...
PHRASE: PHR after v
14.
a ~ skin: see skin