1
as in to twitch
to make jerky or restless movements
the poor dog threshed against his chain
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2
as in to lick
to strike repeatedly
he threshed the whimpering dog with his cane
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Recent Examples of thresh
On the precipice For all their importance to the smooth running of nature’s threshing machine, vultures themselves are being mowed under at an alarming rate.
—
Natalie Angier, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2023
The hurricane with no name threshed across the Atlantic coast in mid-September 1713, ripping at tobacco crops and sending panicked colonists inland, where the storm's destructive power found them.
—oregonlive, 5 Sep. 2019
The rice at the top of the stalks in the paddies was hard and yellow, ready to be cut, threshed and dried in the sun.
—New York Times, 8 Aug. 2019
Vintage tractors, trucks, cars and motorcycles will be on display, and there will be a Parade of Power, tractor pulls and demonstrations of threshing, horse plowing, butter churning, blacksmithing and more.
—Phil Marty, chicagotribune.com, 29 July 2019
Subrat Chandra Gayen, another resident of Joymoni, said nearly 80 percent of families have had to give up on rice farming, which once provided food and an income for most people in the area, including women who sowed, harvested, and threshed it.
—Manipadma Jena, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2018
In the San Joaquin Valley, beans are harvested by a machine called Big Bertha, which can pick and thresh fifty thousand pounds a day.
—Junot Díaz, The New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2018
Deuteronomy 25:4 prohibits the muzzling of an ox that is threshing.
—Karen Swallow Prior, Washington Post, 29 Jan. 2018
Sometimes scenes of hunting, netting fish, herding and butchering animals, threshing grain and other farming activities were carved or painted directly onto tomb walls, as in the exquisite murals at the ancient burial grounds at Saqqara near Cairo.
—Salima Ikram, Smithsonian, 3 Feb. 2017
Natalie Angier, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2023
The hurricane with no name threshed across the Atlantic coast in mid-September 1713, ripping at tobacco crops and sending panicked colonists inland, where the storm's destructive power found them.
—oregonlive, 5 Sep. 2019
The rice at the top of the stalks in the paddies was hard and yellow, ready to be cut, threshed and dried in the sun.
—New York Times, 8 Aug. 2019
Vintage tractors, trucks, cars and motorcycles will be on display, and there will be a Parade of Power, tractor pulls and demonstrations of threshing, horse plowing, butter churning, blacksmithing and more.
—Phil Marty, chicagotribune.com, 29 July 2019
Subrat Chandra Gayen, another resident of Joymoni, said nearly 80 percent of families have had to give up on rice farming, which once provided food and an income for most people in the area, including women who sowed, harvested, and threshed it.
—Manipadma Jena, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2018
In the San Joaquin Valley, beans are harvested by a machine called Big Bertha, which can pick and thresh fifty thousand pounds a day.
—Junot Díaz, The New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2018
Deuteronomy 25:4 prohibits the muzzling of an ox that is threshing.
—Karen Swallow Prior, Washington Post, 29 Jan. 2018
Sometimes scenes of hunting, netting fish, herding and butchering animals, threshing grain and other farming activities were carved or painted directly onto tomb walls, as in the exquisite murals at the ancient burial grounds at Saqqara near Cairo.
—Salima Ikram, Smithsonian, 3 Feb. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thresh
Verb
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And according to researchers at the University of British Columbia, the part of the brainstem involved in the control of sleep cycles is underdeveloped in puppies, leading them to act out their dreams with twitching and growling more often.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
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Some devices, for example, track eye movements or other small muscle twitches to let users select words from a screen.—
Emma R. Hasson,
Scientific American,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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When Sunday ended, supremacy was restored – the Dodgers were back in first place in the NL West, and the Padres were licking their wounds, wondering what just happened.—
Dan Freedman,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
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The little girl licks butter off a spoon, gets a bottle full of bone broth and uses her four teeth to gum ribeye steak.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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From there, Young tossed an accurate ball to Sanders for a would-be first down and it was dropped by the second-year tight end, who has put together an otherwise excellent camp.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Aug. 2025
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Teams of two will compete by tossing bacon from skillet to skillet.—
Andy Humbles,
The Tennessean,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Get aligned and intentional before pounding the keyboard.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
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Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not said when troops would enter Gaza City, his country’s forces have continued to pound the area, killing dozens in recent days.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Instead, the players stood behind him patiently — fidgeting now and then, their faces mainly expressionless — as Trump answered questions that mostly related to the potential of U.S. involvement in Israel’s war against Iran.—
Chuck Schilken,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2025
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Skeptics argue that many of the classic symptoms of the disorder — fidgeting, losing things, not following instructions — are simply typical, if annoying, behaviors of childhood.—
Paul Tough Eric Jason Martin Krish Seenivasan Brian St. Pierre,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The game is a gonzo Kojima production through and through, tonally whipping between self-serious conversations about the nature of war and patriotism, and villains who can shoot lighting from their hands or morph into a swarm of bees.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
22 Aug. 2025
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The crocodile was seen scurrying along and whipping its tail while onlookers screamed and shouted behind the camera, per a clip shared by news and video agency, ViralPress.—
Becca Longmire,
People.com,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Focker In-Law is primed to make theatrical audiences squirm on Nov. 25, 2026.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
28 July 2025
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Algae, bacteria, and simple protozoa would have squirmed around on top of or under the ice, and other specks of life would have swarmed alongside hydrothermal vents on the seafloor.—
Laura Poppick
July 22,
Literary Hub,
22 July 2025
Verb
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Extraterrestrial Easter Eggs and Fun Facts – Uncover the references and characters from some of your favorite Pixar films hidden throughout Elio, along with other fun facts.—
John Archer,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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One goalkeeper displayed his cues; the other ensured hers (and those of her opponent) remained hidden.—
Matt Pyzdrowski,
New York Times,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thresh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thresh. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.
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