DictionaryAI

thank

THANK/θæŋk/

Formsthanks, thanking, thanked

5 meanings of thank

Practice

  1. 1
    verbtransitive
    To show or express gratitude to someone for something, in words or through a gesture or reward.

    He thanked the volunteers for the long hours they spent at the shelter.

    Remember to thank your hosts before you leave the dinner party.

    UsageThe reason follows for: thank someone for their help, thank you for coming.

    Note

    Shakespeare's "I can eate no meate, I thanke you," in The Merry Wives of Windsor, shows the full first-person formula softening a refusal, as no, thank you does now. Goldsmith's figure who "thanks his Gods for all the good they gave" keeps the same frame, with the divine in the object slot. Thank God, thank goodness and thank heavens usually express relief: thank goodness you got home safely.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The quotation occurs in William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor; the character speaking is Slender. internetshakespeare.uvic.ca
    • The quoted first-person formula accompanies a refusal of an invitation to dinner. internetshakespeare.uvic.ca
    • Goldsmith describes a figure thanking his gods using the quoted wording and grammatical frame. gutenberg.org
  2. 2
    blameverbfigurativelytransitive
    To hold someone or something responsible, especially for something negative; to blame, used chiefly with "for."

    You can thank your brother for the broken window in the garage.

    If the project collapses, the board will have only its own poor planning to thank.

    UsageUsually you can thank or we can thank someone for something bad, or have someone to thank.

    Similarblame

    Note

    Gratitude turned inside out. What signals blame rather than real thanks is the unwelcome outcome, so the same grammar that thanks a friend for a favor here points a finger.

  3. 3
    demandverbtransitive
    To request that someone do something, occurring in the frame "will thank someone to," usually as a sharp command or pointed criticism.

    I'll thank you to remember who pays your wages around here.

    Now that you've had your say, I'll thank you to let someone else speak for a change.

    UsageIn the set phrase I'll thank you to or I'll thank you not to + verb. It sounds cold and sharp.

    Similarask

    Note

    A rebuke wearing the words of gratitude: I'll thank you not to smoke in my house! A related turn runs in the negative. Readers "would not thank us for" a tedious digression, meaning the supposed favor would be resented.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The construction illustrated by 'I'll thank you not to smoke in my house!' expresses a command or criticism. en.wiktionary.org
    • 'Would not thank us for' occurs in a passage explaining that readers would not appreciate an extended discussion. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    gratitudenounobsolete
    Singular of thanks: an expression or feeling of gratitude, or goodwill shown toward someone.
    If ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
    1611, The Holy Bible, King James Version
    What great thank, then, if any man, reputed wise and constant, will neither do, nor permit others under his charge to do, that which he approves not, especially in matter of sin?
    1643, J[ohn] M[ilton], The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce
    Note

    The old singular that modern English has folded into thanks. It comes from Old English þanc, a word that could mean gratitude, favor, or even mind and thought. The King James Bible of 1611 still asks "what thank have ye?", and Milton writes "What great thank" in 1643, treating it as a quantity of goodwill. Today the plural does all the work, so the singular belongs only in deliberate pastiche.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

  2. 5
    express gratitudeverbobsoleteintransitive
    To offer expressions of gratitude, without naming a particular recipient.
    Note

    Gratitude with no receiver named. The verb stands alone, as Middle English thanken could when it meant simply "to give thanks." That absolute use has died out, and modern English expects an object: you thank someone, or you give thanks. A writer aiming at an archaic tone might revive it, but in ordinary prose it reads as if a word had gone missing.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of thank apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meaning 4

From Middle English thank and Old English þanc (gratitude, goodwill, and also mind or thought), from Proto-Germanic *þankaz, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root *teng- meaning 'to perceive' or 'to think'. It is related to German Dank, Dutch dank and Swedish tack.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

Meanings 1–3, 5

This comes from Middle English "thanken" and Old English "þancian" (to thank), from Proto-Germanic "*þankōną," formed from "*þankaz" (see etymology 1) plus a verb-forming suffix. It is related to German "danken," Dutch "danken," and Swedish "tacka."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts