thriller

[ thril-er ]
See synonyms for thriller on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person or thing that thrills.

  2. an exciting, suspenseful play or story, especially a mystery story.

Origin of thriller

1
1885–90; 1920–25 for def. 2; thrill + -er1

Words Nearby thriller

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use thriller in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for thriller

thriller

/ (ˈθrɪlə) /


noun
  1. a book, film, play, etc, depicting crime, mystery, or espionage in an atmosphere of excitement and suspense

  2. a person or thing that thrills

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

Cultural definitions for thriller

thriller

A suspenseful, sensational story or film: “Ken Follett writes best-selling spy thrillers.”

Notes for thriller

In Great Britain, the word thriller is sometimes used for all mystery novels: “Martha Grimes, an American, writes British-style thrillers.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.