AskDefine | Define thing

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Dictionary Definition

thing

Noun

1 a special situation; "this thing has got to end"; "it is a remarkable thing"
2 an action; "how could you do such a thing?"
3 an artifact; "how does this thing work?"
4 an event; "a funny thing happened on the way to the..."
5 a statement regarded as an object; "to say the same thing in other terms"; "how can you say such a thing?"
6 any attribute or quality considered as having its own existence; "the thing I like about her is ..."
7 a special abstraction; "a thing of the spirit"; "things of the heart"
8 a vaguely specified concern; "several matters to attend to"; "it is none of your affair"; "things are going well" [syn: matter, affair]
9 an entity that is not named specifically; "I couldn't tell what the thing was"
10 a special objective; "the thing is to stay in bounds"
11 a persistent illogical feeling of desire or aversion; "he has a thing about seafood"; "she has a thing about him"
12 a separate and self-contained entity

User Contributed Dictionary

see Thing

English

Etymology

From , from þing.

Pronunciation

  • , /θɪŋ/, /TIN/
  • Rhymes with: -ɪŋ

Noun

thing (plural: things; diminutives: thingy / thingie, thingo [Aus])
  1. That which is considered to exist as a separate entity, object, quality or concept.
  2. A word, symbol, sign or other referent that can be used to refer to any entity.
  3. An individual object or distinct entity.
  4. whatever can be owned.
  5. the latest fad or fashion.
  6. clothes, possessions or equipment.
  7. A unit.
    Get me a thing of apple juice at the store.
  8. In Scandinavian countries, a legislative or judicial assembly.
  9. (in certain fixed expressions) A problem, dilemma, or complicating factor.
  10. In the context of "U.S. slang": A penis.

Quotations

  • 1611 — King James Version of the Bible, Luke 1:1
    Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us...

Synonyms

Translations

a separate entity or concept
any physical or psychical entity
a legislative or judicial assembly
  • German: Thing
  • Swedish: ting

Derived terms

Extensive Definition

Thing may refer to:
In philosophy:
In history:
  • Thing (assembly), also transliterated as ting or þing, a historical Scandinavian governing assembly
  • Thing (listening device), a Soviet bug used during the Cold War for eavesdropping on the ambassador to the Soviet Union
In fiction:
In music:
Thing can also refer to:
thing in German: Ding
thing in Esperanto: Aĵo
thing in French: Chose
thing in Ido: Kozo
thing in Hungarian: Dolog
thing in Dutch: Ding
thing in Russian: Вещь
thing in Simple English: Thing
thing in Slovak: Vec
thing in Finnish: Asia
thing in Swedish: Ting

Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words

accomplished fact, accomplishment, achievement, act, acta, action, activities, activity, adventure, affair, affairs, affection, affinity, an existence, apparatus, apparel, area, article, artifact, aspect, attire, attitude, aversion, bag, baggage, being, belongings, bent, bias, blow, body, business, case, chance, chattels, chore, chosen kind, circumstance, circumstances, clobber, clothes, clothing, commerce, concern, concernment, concerns, constituent, contrivance, count, coup, crap, craze, creature, critter, cry, cup of tea, datum, dealings, deed, detail, detestation, device, dingus, dislike, dofunny, dohickey, doing, doings, dojigger, dojiggy, domajig, domajigger, doodad, dowhacky, dress, druthers, duds, effects, effort, element, employ, employment, endeavor, entelechy, enterprise, entity, episode, eppes, equipment, etwas, event, events, existence, existent, exploit, facet, fact, factor, fad, fait accompli, fancy, fashion, favor, fear, feat, feature, feeling, fetish, field, fixation, flumadiddle, forte, function, furore, gadget, gear, gest, gigamaree, gimmick, gizmo, go, goods, habiliments, hand, handiwork, hang-up, happening, happenings, hickey, hootenanny, hootmalalie, horror, idee fixe, impedimenta, implements, incident, incidental, inclination, individual, instance, instrument, interest, item, jigger, job, junk, labor, lares and penates, leaning, life, liking, line, loathing, long suit, lookout, love, luggage, main interest, maneuver, mania, manner, material, material thing, matter, matters, measure, mechanism, metier, minor detail, minutia, minutiae, mode, monad, movables, move, object, obsession, occasion, occupation, operation, opportunity, organism, overt act, paraphernalia, partiality, particular, particular choice, passage, passion, performance, person, persona, personal choice, personality, pet subject, phobia, point, possession, possessions, possibility, predilection, predisposition, preference, prejudice, preoccupation, prepossession, proceeding, proclivity, production, pursuit, quelque chose, quirk, rage, raiment, reaction, regard, res gestae, respect, responsibility, right, rightfulness, rightness, sentiment, service, shit, something, soul, specialism, speciality, specialization, specialty, step, stroke, strong point, stuff, stunt, style, subject, substance, task, taste, technicality, tendency, terror, the last word, the latest thing, the latest wrinkle, the proper thing, the rage, the seemly, the thing, thing done, things, thingum, thingumabob, thingumadad, thingumadoodle, thingumajig, thingumajigger, thingumaree, thingummy, togs, tools, tour de force, transaction, traps, trend, tricks, turn, type, undertaking, unit, utensil, utensils, vocation, vogue, way, weakness, what is done, what is right, what should be, whatchy, widget, work, works
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