thread
noun · verb
Simple meaning
a long, thin string used for sewing or weaving fabric
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
thtehdIPA pronunciation (US)
θɾ̪̊ɛd
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
computing
A unit of execution, lighter in weight than a process, usually sharing memory and other resources with other threads executing concurrently.
The line midway between the banks of a stream.
A sequence of connections.
verb
To pass (through a narrow constriction or around a series of obstacles).
“I think I can thread my way through here, but it's going to be tight.”
To put thread through.
To screw on, to fit the threads of a nut on a bolt
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A unit of execution, lighter in weight than a process, usually sharing memory and other resources with other threads executing concurrently.
Used this way, thread is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a computing use: it carries a fixed technical meaning inside software and systems work.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technology
- Technical/specialist writing
- Business/professional
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Informal terms for clothing.
Having screw threads.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Fish having greatly elongated front rays on dorsal and anal fins.
Someone who spins (who twists fibers into threads).
A disease of tropical woody plants (cacao or tea or citrus).
The raised helical rib going around a screw.
Yucca with long stiff leaves having filamentlike appendages.
Low-growing perennial of North America woodlands having trifoliate leaves and yellow rootstock and white flowers.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: unit of execution
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API (CC BY-SA 3.0). Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.