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thread

  • /ˈθɹɛd/
  • [ˈθɹʷɛd]

Rhymes with -ɛd

Where it comes from

From Middle English thred, þred, threed, from Old English þrǣd, from Proto-Germanic *þrēduz, from Proto-Indo-European *treh₁-tu-s, from *terh₁- (“rub, twist”).

Cognates

Cognate with Yola dreade (“thread”), Saterland Frisian Träid (“thread, wire”), Cimbrian draat (“string, thread”), Dutch draad (“thread, wire”), German Draht (“thread, wire”), Luxembourgish Drot (“wire”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish tråd (“thread, wire”), Faroese tráður (“thread”), Icelandic þráður (“thread”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian dredh (“twist, turn”). More at throw.

noun threads · thred · thrid · threed

  1. A cord formed by spinning or twisting together textile fibers or filaments into one or more continuous strands, typically used in needlework. Woolen threads were an occult means, according to the Roman poet Horace, of depriving a person of virility.

    Similar: string

  2. A piece of yarn, especially said of warps and wefts in a woven fabric.
  3. Any of various natural (as spiderweb, etc.) or manufactured filaments (as glass, plastic, metal, etc.). the threads of a spiderweb
  4. A slender stream of water. a thread of water
  5. The line midway between the banks of a stream.
  6. A screw thread.
  7. The continuing course of life; the thread of life.
  8. A line of reasoning, sequence of ideas, or train of thought. I’ve lost the thread of what you’re saying.
  9. A continuing theme that modifies the whole discourse. All of these essays have a common thread.

    Similar: topic

  10. A unit of execution, lighter in weight than a process, usually sharing memory and other resources with other threads executing concurrently.
  11. Internet A series of posts or messages, consisting of an initial post and responses to it, generally relating to the same subject, on a newsgroup, Internet forum, or social media platform.
  12. A sequence of connections.
  13. A precarious condition; something that which offers no real or otherwise perceived security. a life hanging by a thread
  14. figuratively, obsolete The degree of fineness; quality; nature. A neat courtier, / Of a most elegant thread.

verb threads · threading · threaded · thrid

  1. transitive To pass a thread through the eye of a needle.
  2. transitive To fix (beads, pearls, etc.) upon a thread that is passed through; to string.
  3. figuratively, transitive To make one's way through or between (a constriction or obstacles). to thread through narrow passages
  4. figuratively, transitive To cautiously make (one's way) through a precarious place or situation. He threaded his way through legal entanglements.
  5. figuratively, transitive To pass through; to pierce through; to penetrate. And when the Miners by theſe Shafts or Adits do ſtrike or threed a Vein of any Metal […] then the Metal which is digged […] is called Oar […]
  6. transitive To interweave as if with thread; to intersperse. [...] the urban landscape threaded with parks and trees to the horizon. The enormous sky over that flat line dazzled clear blue or filled with towers of cumulus clouds.
  7. transitive To form a screw thread on or in (a bolt, hole, etc.). Coordinate term: tap
  8. ambitransitive To remove (facial hair) by way of a looped thread that is tightly wound in the middle. to thread your eyebrows and trim them
  9. ambitransitive To feed (a sewing machine or otherwise a projecting or exposing mechanism, such as a projector, a camera, etc.) with film.
  10. transitive To pass (a film or tape) through a projector, recorder, etc. so as to correct its path.
  11. intransitive Of boiling syrup: To form a threadlike stream when poured from a spoon.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: yarn, weave, ribbon, string, screw thread, meander, wind, weft, cord, sewing, net, rope, lisle, fillet, cordon, shirt

Translations

Every language

noun long, thin and flexible form of material

Españolhilo, bouclé (buclé), buclé, hilaracha, filástica, madeja
한국어실 sil
日本語糸 ito
中文線 /线 xiàn
हिन्दीधागा dhāgā, सूत sūt, सूत्र sūtra, तंत tant, तन्तु tantu, तागा tāgā
Kiswahiliuzi
Portuguêsfio, linha, barbante
Françaisfil
DeutschFaden, Garn, Zwirn, Nähgarn, Strang
Italianofilo, refe
Ελληνικάνήμα níma, κλωστή klostí
Românăfir, tort, ață
Русскийнить nitʹ, ни́тка nítka
Tiếng Việtchỉ
العربيةخَيْط ḵayṭ
עבריתחוּט khut

noun (computing) a unit of execution

Españolsubproceso, proceso ligero
日本語スレッド sureddo, ライトウェイトプロセス raito-purosesu
中文分身 fēnshēn, 線 /线 xiàn, 線程 /线程 xiànchéng
Portuguêsthread
Françaisprocessus léger, exétron, fil d'exécution
DeutschThread
Русскийпото́к potók, тред trɛd
العربيةخَيْط ḵayṭ
עבריתתהליכון tahalikhón, תת־תהליך tat-tahalíkh, חוּט ḥut

noun a theme or idea — see also common thread

Españoltema, argumento
Portuguêsfio da meada, tópico
Françaisfil
DeutschThema, roter Faden, Faden
Italianofilo, filo conduttore
Ελληνικάθέμα théma
Русскийте́ма téma, нить nitʹ, мысль myslʹ

noun (Internet) a series of messages

Españolhilo, tema, tópico, cadena
日本語スレッド sureddo, スレ sure
中文主題 /主题 zhǔtí, 論題 /论题 lùntí, 話題 /话题 huàtí
हिन्दीसूत sūt
Portuguêstópico, linha de discussão
Françaisfil, fil de discussion, enfilade
DeutschDiskussionsfaden, Diskussionsstrang, Thread
Italianoforum
Ελληνικάνήμα níma
Русскийве́тка vétka, те́ма téma, диску́ссия diskússija, тред trɛd, то́пик tópik
Tiếng Việtthớt
العربيةمَوْضُوع mawḍūʕ
עבריתשִׁרְשׁוּר shirshúr

noun a sequence of connection

Españolhilazón
Françaisfil
DeutschGedankenfluss, Gedankenstrom, Zusammenhang, Strom, Fluß
Русскийнить nitʹ, связь svjazʹ

verb make one's way through or between

Españolpasar
中文穿梭 chuānsuō
Portuguêsenfiar
Françaisfiler
Deutschpassieren, durchkommen, durchfädeln, bahnen

verb pass a thread through the eye of a needle

Españolenhebrar, enjaretar, enhilar, ensartar
हिन्दीपिरोना pironā
Portuguêsfiar, enfiar
Deutscheinfädeln
Italianoinfilare
Tiếng Việtxỏ, xâu

verb screw on

Españolenroscar
Deutschaufschrauben, gewindeschneiden

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"thread." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/thread. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

thread. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/thread

Chicago

"thread." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/thread.

BibTeX
@misc{thread_2026,
  title = {thread},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/thread},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}