| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| thing |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  th ng |
| NOUN: | 1. An entity, an idea, or a quality perceived, known, or thought to have its own existence. 2a. The real or concrete substance of an entity. b. An entity existing in space and time. c. An inanimate object. 3. Something referred to by a word, a symbol, a sign, or an idea; a referent. 4. A creature: the poor little thing. 5. An individual object: There wasn't a thing in sight. 6a. Law That which can be possessed or owned. Often used in the plural: things personal; things real. b. things Possessions; belongings: packed her things and left. c. An article of clothing: Put on your things and let's go. 7. things The equipment needed for an activity or a special purpose: Where are my cleaning things? 8. An object or entity that is not or cannot be named specifically: What is this thing for? 9a. An act, deed, or work: promised to do great things. b. The result of work or activity: is always building things. 10. A thought, a notion, or an utterance: What a rotten thing to say! 11. A piece of information: wouldn't tell me a thing about the project. 12. A means to an end: just the thing to increase sales. 13. An end or objective: In blackjack, the thing is to get nearest to 21 without going over. 14. A matter of concern: many things on my mind. 15. A turn of events; a circumstance: The accident was a terrible thing. 16a. things The general state of affairs; conditions: “Beneath the smooth surface of things, something was wrong” (Tom Wicker). b. A particular state of affairs; a situation: Let's deal with this thing promptly. 17. Informal A persistent illogical feeling, as a desire or an aversion; an obsession: has a thing about seafood. 18. Informal The latest fad or fashion; the rage: Drag racing was the thing then. 19. Slang An activity uniquely suitable and satisfying to one: Let him do his own thing. See synonyms at forte1. | | IDIOMS: | first thing Informal Right away; before anything else: Do your assignments first thing in the morning. see (or hear) things To have hallucinations. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Old English.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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