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

Breaking through entails navigating a thicket of customer perceptions, expectations, and a general reluctance to try something new when the existing solution feels sufficient. —Alexander Puutio, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025

Many more are expected to follow, as representatives from DOGE make their way through the thicket of federal agencies and offices. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 19 Feb. 2025

Western startups seek to create strong patents at their core and to develop thickets of IP to support them. —Jim Euchner, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025

The thickets contain police officers, undertakers, insurance agents, attorneys, claims adjusters, benefits counsellors, human-resources workers, notaries, friends. —Joseph O’Neill, The New Yorker, 23 Feb. 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