thread Meaning, Definition & Usage

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

WordNet

Thread noun
Etymology
OE. threed, red, AS. rd; akin to D. draad, G. draht wire, thread, OHG. drat, Icel. rar a thread, Sw. tråd, Dan. traad, and AS. rawan to twist. See Throw, and cf. Third.
Definitions
  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.
Thread transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Threaded; present participle & verbal noun Threading
Definitions
  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 1913