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

Wartime tunnels and bunkers Before 1965, Vịnh Mốc was a tranquil fishing village in central Vietnam, with a lush landscape of rice paddies, bamboo thickets and golden beaches. — Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2026

These sucker shoots can quickly form a thicket of stems that are unsightly, inherently weak, and prone to storm damage if allowed to mature. — Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Sep. 2026

Elk prefer thickets and blowdowns, especially where dense spruce trees grow. — Jim Zumbo, Outdoor Life, 10 Sep. 2026

For the final episode of our 2026 season, Mike talks with Adam Erlich Sachs (recipient of a 2026 Windham-Campbell Prize for Fiction) about the historical Kantian thicket of Heinrich von Kleist’s Michael Kohlhaas, translated by Michael Hoffman. — Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 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