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thus

adverb
THUS/ˈðʌs/

2 meanings of thus

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  1. 1
    as a resultadverbformal
    As a consequence of what has just been said or done; therefore.

    The committee lacked a quorum, and thus no binding vote could be taken.

    He had broken the agreement and thus forfeited any claim to compensation.

    UsageUse and thus, or a semicolon before it: we had the tools; thus, we fixed it. A comma alone does not join the clauses.

    Similartherefore, hence, consequently, accordingly, so

    Note

    A linking adverb that carries an argument from cause to consequence. In the American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity (1898), "and thus we came… to Mohair" hovers between "as a result" and the "in this way" meaning, and the two often blur.

  2. 2
    in this wayadverbliteraryformal
    In the manner or way being pointed out or described.

    The teacher held the chisel thus, demonstrating the proper angle for the cut.

    Bow thus before the altar, then step quietly to one side.

    UsageOften before a colon or a demonstration: hold it thus. In conversation, like this is usual.

    Similarso

    Note

    A word that points: perhaps born as a form of this meaning "by this", it still works like a gesture toward a demonstration or a description that follows. Unlike the "as a result" meaning, it tells how, not why.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English "thus," from Old English "þus" ("in this way, as follows"), from Proto-West Germanic *þus. It perhaps came originally from a variant of the instrumental form of "this," and it is related to Dutch "dus" and West Frisian "dus."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts