thicket

noun

thick·​et ˈthi-kət 

1

: a dense growth of shrubbery or small trees : copse

2

: something resembling a thicket in density or impenetrability : tangle

a political thicket

a thicket of reporters

thickety

ˈthi-kə-tē 

adjective

Synonyms

• boscage
• boskage
• bosk
• bosque
• bosquet
• brake
• brushwood
• chaparral
• coppice
• copse
• covert

Examples of thicket in a Sentence

a dense thicket of rosebushes

flushed a pheasant from a thicket of willows

Recent Examples on the Web

Stepping through the thicket is like being transported to another world — light shafts penetrate the canopy as the vegetation encloses you into beautiful woodland. —David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025

As Jacob prowls through the dense thickets of Queen Elizabeth National Park, his every step—or leap—serves as a reminder of nature’s tenacity and the urgent need to preserve it. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2024

While updating the story for the screen, the screenwriters Gladys Unger, John Collier, and Mortimer Offner cut through the thicket to highlight Sylvia’s role-playing and confusion about her gender identity. —Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 4 Dec. 2024

Even a simple online purchase, thanks to an informational thicket of identification checks and to gamelike time pressure, seems to threaten entrapment. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English *thikket, from Old English thiccet, from thicce thick

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

thicket

noun

thick·​et ˈthik-ət 

1

: a thick usually small patch of shrubbery, small trees, or underbrush

2

: something resembling a thicket in being crowded together or impenetrable

a thicket of fans