threads

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of thread.

   Colored threads were woven through the fabric to form a pattern.

   He traced several threads of the argument before reaching a conclusion.

   Note

   An ordinary count plural that reaches as widely as its singular: the cords of needlework, the warps and wefts of a woven cloth, filaments of spider silk or glass, slender streams of water, the ridges of a screw. Keep it apart from the slang word for clothes. That word looks identical but has no singular, so someone can wear sharp threads, never a sharp thread.

2. 2
   nounslangplural

   A slang term for clothes or clothing.

   He showed up to the reunion in some sharp threads.

   She spent half her paycheck on new threads downtown.

   Similarclothes, gear, duds, togs, clothing

   Note

   Slang that works only in the plural. It takes plural agreement (those threads are sharp), and there is no singular to fall back on. The word leans toward style and self-presentation rather than mere covering. Blake Montgomery, writing in 2024, has Mark Zuckerberg "revamping his public image with new threads," a trio of bold shirts. New and sharp are its natural companions. Keep it for casual talk.

3. 3
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of thread.

   The seamstress threads each bead onto the wire by hand.

   The narrow river threads its way between the steep hills.

   Note

   The -s form used after he, she, it or a singular noun. It often carries the figurative "make one's way" meaning: a river threads its way between hills, a runner threads through a crowd. Because it is spelled exactly like the noun plural, let the sentence decide. In "she threads the needle" it is a verb; in "loose threads" it is a noun.

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