1
as in to twitch
to make jerky or restless movements
the poor dog threshed against his chain
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to lick
to strike repeatedly
he threshed the whimpering dog with his cane
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of thresh
The second one came to the top only a couple of yards from the raft and threw the spoon with a rolling, threshing twist of its whole body.
—
Ben East, Outdoor Life, 28 Aug. 2025
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
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
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
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
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
Ben East, Outdoor Life, 28 Aug. 2025
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
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
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
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
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
-
Her hand twitched from the heat.—
Zuzana Říhová,
Literary Hub,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Any dairy farmer can tell you that biting flies are a pestilent scourge for cattle herds, which is why one so often sees cows throwing their heads, stamping their feet, flicking their tails, and twitching their skin—desperately trying to shake off the nasty creatures.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In fact, the mischievous pup led his owner directly to the scene of the crime by licking his lips constantly, which seemed awfully curious.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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Bear 856 is also a large, male brown bear, who is easily identifiable to park rangers due to the animal's unusual habit of licking his lips — a behavior not typically observed in brown bears.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Maddie—baggy hoodies tossed over an array of old tattoos, clearly carrying a heavy amount of life for her 28 years—gradually attempts to fill her daughter in on her own youth, treading a tightrope between honesty and delicacy.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
1 Oct. 2025
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Carelessness and accidents happen, however, so take some time with each season to go through items and toss anything that’s faded, shattered, or stopped working.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The service itself pulsed with sound with horns blaring, drums pounding and voices rising in song.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Diego Morales Morales pounded pavement over the 12-month period, racking up $10,116 in fuel expenses alone traveling to various counties for meetings and events.—
Kayla Dwyer,
IndyStar,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Children fidgeted in the relentless August heat.—
Jacqui Gifford,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Notice: are people fidgeting, looking at their hands, or rolling their eyes?—
Anne Sugar,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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An overlapping full-back who can whip over a hell of a cross.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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Pretty sure the border is whipped topping as well.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The open section of their session lasted for 15 minutes — and Howe will have squirmed through every second — but there were laughs amid the stretches and shuttle runs.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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In a horror movie, the sight of a leg being broken and the bone sticking out might be squirm-inducing but not out of bonds.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In addition to being faster and scalable, fiber doesn’t hide metals worth extracting and reselling.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
7 Oct. 2025
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Turns out, Kelce was hiding more than just nerves.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thresh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thresh. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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