# thing

Pronunciation: say "THING" US /θiŋ/, UK /θɪŋ/

## Noun

1. Anything regarded as having a separate existence, whether an object, a quality, or an idea.
   - Simple: Anything that exists or can be talked about, such as an object, quality or idea.
   - _The first thing to understand is that nothing is free._
   - _Things are not always what they seem._
2. Something a person does or says, such as an action, a task or a remark.
   - Simple: Something that a person does or says, such as an action, a job or a remark.
   - _What a terrible thing to say to your own brother!_
   - _The first thing she did as mayor was cut her own salary._
3. Any particular object or separate entity, considered individually.
   - Simple: A single object or item.
   - _I found a strange metal thing under the sofa and have no idea what it is._
   - _Put those things back where they belong._
4. In the plural, how life, work or events are going generally; the overall situation or state of affairs.
   - Simple: The way life, work or events are going in general.
   - _Things at the office have been tense since the layoffs were announced._
   - _If things keep going this way, we'll finish the house by spring._
5. In the plural, possessions or equipment; stuff or gear.
   - Simple: In the plural, the items you own or carry with you.
   - _Bring your swimming things on Friday._
   - _Her things filled three boxes._
6. Used with the, especially in the thing is or here's the thing, to introduce the main point, often a problem, excuse or objection. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Used in phrases like the thing is to bring in the main point, often a problem or an excuse.
   - _Here's the thing, I never wanted the job._
   - _The thing about him is that he never lies._
7. Something that creates a problem or makes a situation harder to deal with. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A problem or difficulty that gets in the way.
   - _We'd have moved in by now, but there's a thing with the mortgage to sort out._
   - _One small thing, the bridge is closed._
8. A living being or creature, usually with an adjective of feeling.
   - Simple: A person or animal, usually described with a word that shows feeling.
   - _The kitten was a tiny wet thing._
   - _Our old dog sleeps most of the day now, the poor thing._
9. With 'a', a genuine concept, entity, or phenomenon that actually exists, often contrary to expectation. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: With 'a', something that really exists or is really done.
   - _Some philosophers say race is not a thing at all._
   - _When did brunch become a thing?_
10. A strong liking or attraction, or an unusual dislike or preoccupation, usually in the phrases have a thing for or have a thing about. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A strong liking for someone or something, or a strange dislike or worry about something.
   - _Everyone knew he'd had a thing for her since high school._
   - _My grandfather had a real thing about people being late._
11. A personal preference, used with a possessive and chiefly in the negative. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: What someone likes, used with 'my', 'his' and so on, usually with 'not'.
   - _The internet isn't my thing, I'd rather phone._
   - _Camping was never his thing._
12. A custom or practice. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A habit or custom that a group of people share.
   - _Taking shoes off at the door is a family thing for us._
   - _Long lunches are a Spanish thing._
13. Used after a noun to refer dismissively to the situation surrounding what it names.
   - Simple: Used after a noun for the whole business around it, often to make it sound unimportant.
   - _Can we skip the whole birthday thing this year?_
   - _He never mentions the divorce thing._
14. One's typical routine, habits, or manner, used with 'do' and a possessive. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: What someone usually does, used with 'do' and 'my', 'his' and so on.
   - _I'm here doing my thing, same as always._
   - _She lets the children do their thing on Saturdays._
15. A romantic or sexual relationship, especially an informal or undeclared one; two people who are a thing are a couple. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A romantic relationship. If two people are a thing, they are going out together.
   - _Is there a thing between those two?_
   - _It was a summer thing, nothing more._
16. A single unit, package, or container, usually of food or other consumable goods. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A container or packet of something, usually food or drink.
   - _Grab a thing of milk while you're out._
   - _Two things of yogurt are in the fridge._
17. A person's genitals, especially the penis, referred to euphemistically. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A polite or shy word for a person's private parts.
   - _He covered his thing with both hands and ran._
   - _When potty-training her son, she taught him to point his thing down into the toilet._
19. In Multicultural London English (also spelled ting), a girl or young woman, especially an attractive one or one's girlfriend. *(dialectal, Multicultural London English)*
   - Simple: In London slang, a girl or young woman, especially a pretty one or someone's girlfriend.
   - _Bruv, who's that thing you were chatting to outside the chicken shop?_
   - _He's been linking his new thing from Croydon every weekend._
20. Chiefly in historical use, a public assembly or judicial council in a Germanic country.
   - Simple: In old Germanic countries, a public meeting that made laws and judged cases.
   - _Disputes were settled at the thing, not by the sword._
   - _A chieftain paid those who traveled to the thing._

## Noun

18. The latest fad or fashion, used with 'the'. *(dated)*
   - Simple: With 'the', what is in fashion at the moment.
   - _Sea bathing was the thing that summer._
   - _Everyone went, it was simply the thing._

## Other meanings

- (noun) In law, whatever can be owned; property.
- (noun) In law, a corporeal object, as distinct from a right or an abstraction.
- (verb) To express as a concrete entity; to reify.

## Origin

Old English þing, which goes back to Proto-Germanic, became Middle English thing. Dutch ding, German Ding, and Swedish, Danish and Norwegian ting are relatives. An early sense was "assembly," which shifted to a particular matter discussed at an assembly and finally, in the widest sense, to "an object." Latin shows the same pattern: rēs meant both "thing" and "legal matter," and causa moved from "legal matter" to "thing" in the Romance languages.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/thing (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).