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

• boscage
• boskage
• bosk
• bosque
• bosquet
• brake
• brushwood
• chaparral
• coppice
• copse
• covert

Examples of thicket in a Sentence

a dense thicket of rosebushes

flushed a pheasant from a thicket of willows

Recent Examples on the Web

On Rikers, a thicket of laws and lore, regulations and culture bind and barnacle decision-making. —Elizabeth Glazer, New York Daily News, 18 May 2025

Fourteen years of civil war, and a thicket of financial restrictions imposed by the U.S. government and others, have crippled Syria, physically and economically. —Ephrat Livni, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2025

Seek out a competent financial advisor who can help steer you through the high-tech thicket that is fintech. 3. —Arleo Dordar, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025

The grizzly boiled out of the thicket and came plowing uphill at a dead run, ready to tackle all nine of us. —Howard Copenhaver, Outdoor Life, 23 Apr. 2025

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