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

Patent thickets are when manufacturers file multiple patents on one product to forestall generic competition. —Victoria Knight, Axios, 3 Apr. 2025

In the early days of graphic methods in statistics and the sciences, charts and graphs were meant to be efficient, clearing a thicket of abundant information in the heyday of print. —Mara Mills, Artforum, 1 Apr. 2025

Its base—a cozy thicket of amber woods and sandalwood laced with frankincense and vetiver—adds a meditative feel to the warming mix. —Jenny Berg, Allure, 25 Mar. 2025

Strauss’s roguish grotesqueries were beautifully played, with warm coziness to the thicket of intertwining lines in the winds. —Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 9 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

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