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

Hedden and a colleague approached the Marshes’ property through the woods and discovered a human skull in a thicket. —Sarah Larson, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024

But the group doesn’t need to wade into that thicket. —Bill Adair, TIME, 15 Oct. 2024

To illustrate, Senators have introduced a bill named the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act, which aims to limit patent thickets and product hopping. —Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024

Kimmy towels off, changes into shorts and a long-sleeve shirt, and before long is bounding into the thickets on the south side of the lake, following an overgrown trail. —Kate Siber, Outside Online, 24 Sep. 2024

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