thread

I UK [θred] / US noun
Word forms "thread":
singular thread plural threads
**

1)

a) [countable/uncountable] a long thin fibre used for sewing pieces of cloth together or for weaving

cotton/silk/nylon thread

You need a longer piece of thread.

b) a long thin fibre or piece of something

a caterpillar dangling by a silken thread

2) [countable] the raised line that curves around a screw or around the inside of the lid of a container

3) [countable] a long thin line of something

thread of:

A silvery thread of water cut through the forest.

4) [countable] an idea or condition that exists in all the different parts of something and that connects them

a common/connecting thread:

There is a common thread running through all the problems.

5) [countable] computing a series of email messages or messages on a bulletin board about a particular subject

•

pick up/take up the threads — to start doing something again that you had stopped doing

I picked up the threads of ordinary life again.

- lose the thread

See:

hang I

II UK [θred] / US verb [transitive]
Word forms "thread":
present tense I/you/we/they thread he/she/it threads present participle threading past tense threaded past participle threaded

1) to put something long and thin through a hole or space

Thread the rope through the rings and tie firmly.

2) to connect objects by putting a thread through them

Jack was threading beads onto a string.

•

thread your way around/through/between etc — to move carefully through a place, avoiding people or things that are in your way

She threaded her way through the narrow streets.

- thread your fingers through something

- thread a needle