thickest

1. 1
   adjective

   Superlative of thick.

   Of all the oaks in the grove, that one has the thickest trunk.

   The fog was thickest along the valley floor at dawn.

   Note

   The regular -est superlative of thick, with thicker as the step before it. It ranks in whatever way thick measures: the widest trunk, the most crowded thicket, the most viscous sauce. With the, it picks one item out of three or more (the thickest trunk). Without the article, it compares one thing with itself across places or times, as when fog is thickest along the valley floor.

2. 2
   adverb

   Superlative of thick.

   The arrows flew thickest in the opening minutes of the siege.

   Smoke hung thickest in the corner farthest from the open window.

   Note

   The adverb takes thick's sense of "frequently or numerously" to its peak. Arrows fly thickest and snow falls thickest where the action comes densest or most often. It shares its spelling with the adjective, so look at what it attaches to. Here it follows an action verb (flew thickest). The adjective describes a noun or follows a linking verb (the fog was thickest).

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