thorn
1 Americannoun
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a sharp excrescence on a plant, especially a sharp-pointed aborted branch; spine; prickle.
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any of various thorny shrubs or trees, especially the hawthorns belonging to the genus Crataegus, of the rose family.
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the wood of any of these trees.
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a runic character (þ), borrowed into the Latin alphabet and representing the initial th sounds in thin and they in Old English, or thin in modern Icelandic.
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something that wounds, annoys, or causes discomfort.
verb (used with object)
idioms
noun
noun
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a sharp pointed woody extension of a stem or leaf Compare prickle
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any of various trees or shrubs having thorns, esp the hawthorn
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the wood of any of these plants
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short for thorn moth
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a Germanic character of runic origin Þ used in Old and Modern Icelandic to represent the voiceless dental fricative sound of th, as in thin, bath. Its use in phonetics for the same purpose is now obsolete See theta
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this same character as used in Old and Middle English as an alternative to edh, but indistinguishable from it in function or sound Compare edh
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zoology any of various sharp spiny parts
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a source of irritation (esp in the phrases a thorn in one's side or flesh )
noun
Other Word Forms
- thornless adjective
- thornlike adjective
- unthorn verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of thorn
before 900; Middle English (noun), Old English; cognate with Dutch doorn, German Dorn, Old Norse thorn, Gothic thaurnus
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.
Dutch Bros, a coffee and beverage chain still unknown in many parts of the country, is becoming a thorn in Starbucks’s side.
I had needle thorns sticking in my head and arms, but most especially in my bottom.
From Literature
The data highlights that inflation remains a thorn in the side of the RBA, and that an increase in interest rates at the start of February is highly likely to be repeated in coming months.
But for Freeman, it is his contact numbers that have been a thorn in his side all offseason.
From Los Angeles Times
All of this makes it seem odder that Google has become one of the biggest thorns in Nvidia’s side.
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.
