Standard Lemma guide

thicket

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈθɪkɪt/ weak vowel distinction
  • [ˈθɪkɪt] weak vowel distinction
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /ˈθɪkət/ weak vowel merger
  • [ˈθɪkət] weak vowel merger
  • rhymes with -ɪkɪt
  • homophone: ticket (th-stopping)
  • CMU ARPABET: TH IH1 K IH0 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A dense, but generally small, growth of shrubs, bushes or small trees; a copse.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A dense aggregation of other things, concrete or abstract.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

Examples

  • He had to complete a thicket of paperwork before he was allowed to join the company.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The collection of many small linked files created when a document is saved in HTML format by some word processors and web site creation software.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a dense growth of bushes

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: brush, brushwood, coppice, copse

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: vegetation, flora, botany

Narrower terms: brake, canebrake, spinney, underbrush, undergrowth, underwood

History

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English *thikket, from Old English þiccet, from þicce (“thick”) + Old English nominal suffix -et. Compare similar German Dickicht (“thicket”), which is first attested in the 17th century, however. Compare typologically Bulgarian гъстак (gǎstak), Macedonian густеж (gustež), Czech houští, Polish gęstwina (< *gǫstъ); Latin dūmus (akin to Latin dense).

Across languages

Translations

140 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: عَرِين (ʕarīn) — copse
  • Armenian: թավուտ (tʻavut) — copse
  • Belarusian: хмыз (xmyz) — copse
  • Belarusian: гушча́р (huščár) — copse
  • Belarusian: не́тры (njétry) — copse
  • Bulgarian: гъста́к (gǎsták) — copse
  • Bulgarian: гъстала́к (gǎstalák) — copse
  • Catalan: matoll — copse
  • Cherokee: ᏌᎷᏱ (saluyi) — copse
  • Chinese Mandarin: 叢林 /丛林 (cónglín) — copse
  • Chinese Mandarin: 灌木叢 /灌木丛 (guànmùcóng) — copse
  • Chinese Mandarin: 樹叢 /树丛 (shùcóng) — copse
  • Choctaw: abohli — copse
  • Chuvash: чӑтлӑх (čătlăh) — copse
  • Czech: houští — copse
  • Czech: mlází — copse
  • Danish: krat — copse
  • Danish: buskads — copse
  • Dutch: struikgewas — copse
  • Dutch: kreupelhout — copse
  • Dutch: kreupelbos — copse
  • Esperanto: bosko — copse
  • Estonian: põõsatihnik — copse
  • Faroese: kjarr — copse
  • Finnish: tiheikkö — copse
  • French: fourré — copse
  • French: maquis — copse
  • Galician: mouta — copse
  • Galician: touza — copse
  • German: Dickicht — copse
  • German: Gebüsch — copse
  • German: Gestrüpp — copse
  • German: Buschwerk — copse
  • German: Bruk — copse
  • Greek: λόχμη (lóchmi) — copse
  • Ancient Greek: τάρφος (tárphos) — copse
  • Ancient Greek: λόχμη (lókhmē) — copse
  • Hebrew: סְבַךְ (svakh) — copse
  • Hindi: झाड़ी (jhāṛī) — copse
  • Hindi: वन (van) — copse
  • Hindi: जंगल (jaṅgal) — copse
  • Hungarian: bozót — copse
  • Hungarian: susnyás — copse
  • Icelandic: kjarr — copse
  • Icelandic: þykkni — copse
  • Ido: arbustaro — copse
  • Irish: mothar — copse
  • Irish: doire — copse
  • Irish: muine — copse
  • Italian: boscaglia — copse
  • Italian: fratta — copse
  • Italian: macchia — copse
  • Italian: boschetto — copse
  • Italian: roveto — copse
  • Italian: ammasso — copse
  • Japanese: 茂み (shigemi) — copse
  • Komi-Zyrian: тшӧкыд (čökyd) — copse
  • Korean: 덤불 (deombul) — copse
  • Latin: virgultum — copse
  • Latin: vespex — copse
  • Latin: frutectum — copse
  • Latvian: brikšņi — copse
  • Latvian: biezoknis — copse
  • Latvian: krūmi — copse
  • Lithuanian: krūmokšniai — copse
  • Lithuanian: tankumynas — copse
  • Macedonian: гу́стеж (gústež) — copse
  • Macedonian: че́стак (čéstak) — copse
  • Macedonian: гу́стиш (gústiš) — copse
  • Macedonian: че́стар (čéstar) — copse
  • Macedonian: бу́јак (bújak) — copse
  • Māori: tairo — copse
  • Māori: oro — copse
  • Eastern Mari: чашкер (čašker) — copse
  • Western Mari: тӹшкер (tÿšker) — copse
  • Middle English: spryng — copse
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kratt — copse
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kjerr — copse
  • Old English: þiccet — copse
  • Persian: بیشه (bêše) — copse
  • Polish: zarośla — copse
  • Polish: gęstwina — copse
  • Polish: zarośla — copse
  • Polish: chaszcze — copse
  • Portuguese: moita — copse
  • Portuguese: matagal — copse
  • Romanian: tufiș — copse
  • Romanian: subarboret — copse
  • Romanian: pădurice — copse
  • Romanian: crâng — copse
  • Romanian: arboret — copse
  • Romanian: desiș — copse
  • Russian: ча́ща (čášča) — copse
  • Russian: за́росли (zárosli) — copse
  • Russian: гу́ща (gúšča) — copse
  • Sanskrit: गुल्म (gulma) — copse
  • Serbo-Croatian: гу̀стӣш — copse
  • Serbo-Croatian: шѝкара — copse
  • Serbo-Croatian: gùstīš — copse
  • Serbo-Croatian: šìkara — copse
  • Slovak: húštie — copse
  • Slovak: húšťava — copse
  • Slovak: húština — copse
  • Slovene: gošča — copse
  • Slovene: goščava — copse
  • Lower Sorbian: gusć — copse
  • Lower Sorbian: gusćina — copse
  • Lower Sorbian: gusćinka — copse
  • Spanish: matorral — copse
  • Spanish: bosquecillo — copse
  • Swedish: snår — copse
  • Swedish: busksnår — copse
  • Thai: พง (pong) — copse
  • Tumbuka: lusukuti — copse
  • Turkish: çalılık — copse
  • Turkish: bük — copse
  • Ottoman Turkish: بوك (bük) — copse
  • Udmurt: варсэм (varsem) — copse
  • Ukrainian: ха́щі (xášči) — copse
  • Ukrainian: ха́ща (xášča) — copse
  • Ukrainian: гуща́вина (huščávyna) — copse
  • Ukrainian: гу́ща (húšča) — copse
  • Ukrainian: гу́щава (húščava) — copse
  • Ukrainian: гуща́к (huščák) — copse
  • Ukrainian: не́трі (nétri) — copse
  • Ukrainian: не́трища (nétryšča) — copse
  • Ukrainian: за́рості (zárosti) — copse
  • Ukrainian: чагарни́к (čaharnýk) — copse
  • Unami: ahëwe — copse
  • Uzbek: chakalakzor — copse
  • Uzbek: changalzor — copse
  • Vietnamese: bụi — copse
  • Vietnamese: bụi rậm — copse
  • Welsh: llwyn — copse
  • Welsh: dryslwyn — copse
  • Finnish: viidakko — A dense aggregation of other things, concrete or abstract.
  • German: Gestrüpp — A dense aggregation of other things, concrete or abstract.
  • German: Dickicht — A dense aggregation of other things, concrete or abstract.
  • German: Dschungel — A dense aggregation of other things, concrete or abstract.
  • Irish: mothar — A dense aggregation of other things, concrete or abstract.
Real reading context

thicket in complete knowledge articles