thicket

noun

thick·​et ˈthi-kət 

1

: a dense growth of shrubbery or small trees : copse

2

: something resembling a thicket in density or impenetrability : tangle

a political thicket

a thicket of reporters

thickety

ˈthi-kə-tē 

adjective

Synonyms of thicket

• forest
• copse
• grove
• bush
• brushwood
• coppice
• chaparral
• tangle
• brake
• jungle

Examples of thicket in a Sentence

a dense thicket of rosebushes

flushed a pheasant from a thicket of willows

Recent Examples on the Web

That lack of standardization leads to layers of bureaucracy for patients; moving to a new plan can ensnare patients in a thicket of red tape, keeping them from care. — Renuka Rayasam, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 July 2026

By Todd Woody, Bloomberg On a warm summer morning, two fire officials navigate an SUV along a narrow road that switchbacks high into the hills above the town of Fairfax, California, where thickets of trees conceal hundreds of homes. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 8 July 2026

The new ones appear reassuringly sturdy, even without the thicket of cross-braces that typically fence off the sidewalk from the street. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 24 June 2026

New models must navigate a thicket of laws on privacy and data security, fraud and abuse, professional licensure, scope of practice, and—in some cases—product approval. — Web Golinkin, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English *thikket, from Old English thiccet, from thicce thick

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for thicket

• chicot
• cricket
• picket
• picot
• ticket
• wicket

Kids Definition

thicket

noun

thick·​et ˈthik-ət 

1

: a thick usually small patch of shrubbery, small trees, or underbrush

2

: something resembling a thicket in being crowded together or impenetrable

a thicket of fans