thicker

1. 1
   adjective

   Comparative of thick.

   The ice near the shore was thicker and far safer to walk on.

   She chose the thicker rope for the heavier load.

   Note

   A comparative that carries every sense of its base with it: thicker ice is deeper from surface to surface, thicker soup is more viscous, and a thicker crowd is more densely packed. With a measurement it states a difference, as in two inches thicker, and it takes than for the comparison. Like most short adjectives, it adds -er rather than taking more.

2. 2
   adverb

   Comparative of thick.

   Lay the mulch thicker around the roots to keep the soil moist.

   The orders came in thicker and faster as the holidays approached.

   Note

   Here the comparison falls on the action rather than the thing: mulch laid thicker, snow falling thicker. Like the adjective, it takes -er, and it competes with more thickly; the short form sits most naturally right after verbs of spreading, laying and coming. It can also mean more often or in greater numbers, as when complaints come thicker the longer a meeting runs.

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