thorn
a sharp excrescence on a plant, especially a sharp-pointed aborted branch; spine; prickle.
any of various thorny shrubs or trees, especially the hawthorns belonging to the genus Crataegus, of the rose family.
the wood of any of these trees.
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.
something that wounds, annoys, or causes discomfort.
to prick with a thorn; vex.
Idioms about thorn
thorn in one's side / flesh, a source of continual irritation or suffering: That child is a thorn in the teacher's side.
Origin of thorn
1Other words from thorn
- thornless, adjective
- thornlike, adjective
- un·thorn, verb (used with object)
Other definitions for Thorn (2 of 2)
German name of Toruń.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use thorn in a sentence
They started as small groups that are big thorns in Iran's side now.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan | Umar Farooq | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThorns support is for everyone, and there are no pastel colors or condescending cursive.
Portland Is Ground Zero for the Best Women’s Soccer in the World | Evelyn Shoop | June 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTPortland will always support the Thorns with classic Cascadian zeal.
Portland Is Ground Zero for the Best Women’s Soccer in the World | Evelyn Shoop | June 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWith the Thorns already behind 0–1, backup goalie Michelle Betos came in on a PK, and the score went to 0–2.
Portland Is Ground Zero for the Best Women’s Soccer in the World | Evelyn Shoop | June 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIncidentally, these sites are all thorns in the side of Beijing.
With arrows and with bows they shall go in thither: for briers and thorns shall be in all the land.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousUpon the land of my people shall thorns and briers come up: how much more upon all the houses of joy, of the city that rejoiced?
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousOnce during a deep snow there was a complete block of coaches on the road at “Seven Thorns.”
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries | Charles G. HarperAnd in spite of your liberal thorns and maddening incomprehensibilities, you can always put homesickness to flight.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonWas he trying to reveal a secret kept so many years, and which was planting his pillow with thorns?
The Cromptons | Mary J. Holmes
British Dictionary definitions for thorn (1 of 2)
/ (θɔːn) /
a sharp pointed woody extension of a stem or leaf: Compare prickle (def. 1)
any of various trees or shrubs having thorns, esp the hawthorn
the wood of any of these plants
short for thorn moth
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
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
zoology any of various sharp spiny parts
a source of irritation (esp in the phrases a thorn in one's side or flesh)
Origin of thorn
1Derived forms of thorn
- thornless, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for Thorn (2 of 2)
/ (toːrn) /
the German name for Toruń
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for thorn
[ thôrn ]
A short, hard, pointed part of a stem or branch of a woody plant. Compare spine.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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