thatch
1 Americannoun
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Also a material, as straw, rushes, leaves, or the like, used to cover roofs, grain stacks, etc.
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a covering of such a material.
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the leaves of various palms that are used for thatching.
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something resembling thatch on a roof, especially thick hair covering the head.
a thatch of unruly red hair.
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Horticulture. a tightly bound layer of dead grass, including leaves, stems, and roots, that builds up on the soil surface at the base of the living grass of a lawn.
verb (used with object)
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to cover with or as if with thatch.
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Horticulture. to remove thatch from (a lawn); dethatch.
noun
noun
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Also called: thatching. a roofing material that consists of straw, reed, etc
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a roof made of such a material
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anything resembling this, such as the hair of the head
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Also called: thatch palm. any of various palms with leaves suitable for thatching
verb
Other Word Forms
- rethatch verb (used with object)
- thatcher noun
- thatchless adjective
- thatchy adjective
Etymology
Origin of thatch
before 900; (v.) Middle English thacchen, variant (with a from thak > dial. thack ) of thecchen, Old English theccan to cover, hide; cognate with Dutch dekken ( deck ), German decken, Old Norse thekja; (noun) Middle English thacche, variant (with ch from the v.) of thak
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I walked through a small village where chickens and gnomes were scattered among little houses with thatched roofs and smoking chimneys.
From Literature
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He went to the other corner of his house with the roof thatched with leaves and the walls made of deep brown clay.
From Literature
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But Togbe’s house was in its own compound with a small garden patch and a thatched chicken coop.
From Literature
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We arrive at a huddled stone cottage with a sloped thatched roof.
From Literature
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Both are bohíos, simple wooden houses made with a thatched roof.
From Literature
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.