/ θɪk; NAmE / adjective , noun , adverb
■ adjective
( thick·er , thick·est )
DISTANCE BETWEEN SIDES
1.
having a larger distance between opposite sides or surfaces than other similar objects or than normal :
a thick slice of bread
a thick book (= one that has a lot of pages)
a thick coat (= one made of heavy cloth)
thick fingers
Everything was covered with a thick layer of dust.
2.
used to ask about or state the distance between opposite sides or surfaces :
How thick are the walls?
They're two feet thick.
HAIR / FUR / TREES
3.
growing closely together in large numbers :
thick dark hair
a thick forest
LIQUID
4.
not flowing very easily :
thick soup
The effect will be ruined if the paint is too thick.
FOG / SMOKE / AIR
5.
thick (with sth) difficult to see through; difficult to breathe in :
The plane crashed in thick fog.
thick smoke
The air was thick with dust.
( figurative )
The atmosphere was thick with tension.
WITH LARGE NUMBER / AMOUNT
6.
thick with sb/sth having a large number of people or a large amount of sth in one place :
The beach was thick with sunbathers.
STUPID
7.
( BrE , informal ) ( of a person ) slow to learn or understand things :
Are you thick, or what?
ACCENT
8.
(sometimes disapproving ) easily recognized as being from a particular country or area
SYN strong :
a thick Brooklyn accent
VOICE
9.
thick (with sth) deep and not as clear as normal, especially because of illness or emotion :
His voice was thick with emotion.
FRIENDLY WITH SB
10.
thick (with sb) ( informal ) very friendly with sb, especially in a way that makes other people suspicious :
You seem to be very thick with the boss!
—see also thickly , thickness
•
IDIOMS
- give sb / get a thick ear
- (as) thick as thieves
- (as) thick as two short planks
- a thick head
- your thick head
- a thick skin
—more at blood noun , ground noun
■ noun
[ U ]
•
IDIOMS
- in the thick of sth
- through thick and thin
■ adverb
( thick·er , thick·est ) in a way that produces a wide piece or deep layer of sth :
Make sure you cut the bread nice and thick.
•
IDIOMS
- lay it on thick
- thick and fast
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English thicce , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch dik and German dick .