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

• forest
• copse
• grove
• brushwood
• coppice
• bush
• chaparral
• tangle
• jungle
• bosque
• brake

Examples of thicket in a Sentence

a dense thicket of rosebushes

flushed a pheasant from a thicket of willows

Recent Examples on the Web

Twelve feet tall, these woven textiles bring a density, warmth, and transportive quality to the space—you’re suddenly within the thicket where the fairytale is unfolding. —Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 6 Aug. 2025

Officials say the confrontation occurred on the North Tongue River in the Bighorn National Forest in classic moose habitat: a thicket of willows along the river corridor. —Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 19 June 2025

Stone wove drum machines into the dense thickets of sound. —Rob Tannenbaum, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025

Behind him stands a little girl, less than half his size, wearing a red dress, a red bow poking from the thicket of her heavy black hair. —Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 30 June 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

Rhymes for thicket

• chicot
• cricket
• picket
• picot
• ticket
• wicket

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