thank

verb \ ˈthaŋk \

Updated on: 21 May 2018

Definition of thank

transitive verb

1 : to express gratitude to

thanked her for the present

—used in the phrase thank you usually without a subject to politely express gratitude

thank you for your consideration

or sometimes to emphasize a preceding statement especially by implying that it is not subject to question

likes her job just fine, thank you

—used in such phrases as thank God, thank goodness usually without a subject to express gratitude or more often only the speaker's or writer's pleasure or satisfaction in something

2 : to hold responsible

had only himself to thank for his loss

—

thanker

noun

See thank defined for English-language learners

See thank defined for kids

Examples of thank in a Sentence

I want to thank everyone who helped today.
There's no need to thank me. Anyone would have done the same.

Recent Examples of thank from the Web

Another woman said thank you after receiving a lily while sitting at a red light.

— kayla o'brien, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Motorcyclist gives out flowers in traffic for Mother's Day in Central Florida," 14 May 2018
When practice ended, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and Jon Robinson gathered the group thanked them for their effort and their time and told them the roster was full.

— ron higgins, NOLA.com, "Joe Este survives three-day tryout and signs a rookie contract with the Tennessee Titans," 13 May 2018
As the group headed back to their cars along the creekside trail, passing runners and bikers thanked them for cleaning up the creek.

— bob hallinen, Anchorage Daily News, "Clothing, blankets and a pile of propane tanks: See what a Chester Creek cleanup yielded," 12 May 2018
Vigos says Malfacini thanked her for her work and told her that Facebook and Instagram’s policy would be changing to allow birth content.

— allison yarrow, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Childbirth Photos Instagram Didn't Want You to See," 11 May 2018
Say thank you to people and actually really mean it.

— adam harris, The Atlantic, "Oprah to Graduates: Vote! Vote! Vote!," 11 May 2018
But most of all congratulations and thank you to all our fans.

— caroline hallemann, Town & Country, "Outlander is Renewed for Seasons 5 and 6," 10 May 2018
There are a million and one different ways to say thank you.

— olivia harrison, refinery29.com, "Teachers Can Get Free Chipotle Next Week," 30 Apr. 2018
To Barbara Jenkins Bull, now Kraus, thank you for sharing your divinity with me.

— time staff, Time, "Sterling K. Brown Honors a Teacher Who He Would 'Run Through a Brick Wall' For," 25 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'thank.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of thank

Middle English, from Old English thancian; akin to Old English thanc gratitude — more at thanks

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

THANK Defined for English Language Learners

thank

verb

Definition of thank for English Language Learners

: to tell (someone) that you are grateful for something that he or she has done or given

THANK Defined for Kids

thank

verb \ ˈthaŋk \

Definition of thank for Students

thanked; thanking

1 : to express gratitude to

2 : to hold responsible I can thank myself for my problem.

Learn More about thank

See words that rhyme with thank Spanish Central: Translation of thank Nglish: Translation of thank for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of thank for Arabic speakers

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