a. [ Compar. Thicker superl. Thickest. ] [ OE. thicke, AS. þicce; akin to D. dik, OS. thikki, OHG. dicchi thick, dense, G. dick thick, Icel. þykkr, þjökkr, and probably to Gael. & Ir. tiugh. Cf. Tight. ] 1. Measuring in the third dimension other than length and breadth, or in general dimension other than length; -- said of a solid body; as, a timber seven inches thick. [ 1913 Webster ]

Were it as thick as is a branched oak. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. 1 Kings xii. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Having more depth or extent from one surface to its opposite than usual; not thin or slender; as, a thick plank; thick cloth; thick paper; thick neck. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Dense; not thin; inspissated; as, thick vapors. Also used figuratively; as, thick darkness. [ 1913 Webster ]

Make the gruel thick and slab. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Not transparent or clear; hence, turbid, muddy, or misty; as, the water of a river is apt to be thick after a rain. “In a thick, misty day.” Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Abundant, close, or crowded in space; closely set; following in quick succession; frequently recurring. [ 1913 Webster ]

The people were gathered thick together. Luke xi. 29. [ 1913 Webster ]

Black was the forest; thick with beech it stood. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Not having due distinction of syllables, or good articulation; indistinct; as, a thick utterance. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Deep; profound; as, thick sleep. [ R. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. Dull; not quick; as, thick of fearing. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

His dimensions to any thick sight were invincible. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. Intimate; very friendly; familiar. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

We have been thick ever since. T. Hughes. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Thick is often used in the formation of compounds, most of which are self-explaining; as, thick-barred, thick-bodied, thick-coming, thick-cut, thick-flying, thick-growing, thick-leaved, thick-lipped, thick-necked, thick-planted, thick-ribbed, thick-shelled, thick-woven, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thick register. (Phon.) See the Note under Register, n., 7. --
Thick stuff (Naut.), all plank that is more than four inches thick and less than twelve. J. Knowles. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Dense; close; compact; solid; gross; coarse. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ Cf. AS. þiccian. ] To thicken. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The nightmare Life-in-death was she,
Who thicks man's blood with cold. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ AS. þicce. ] 1. Frequently; fast; quick. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Closely; as, a plat of ground thick sown. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To a great depth, or to a greater depth than usual; as, land covered thick with manure. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thick and threefold, in quick succession, or in great numbers. [ Obs. ] L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The thickest part, or the time when anything is thickest. [ 1913 Webster ]

In the thick of the dust and smoke. Knolles. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A thicket; as, gloomy thicks. [ Obs. ] Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Through the thick they heard one rudely rush. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

He through a little window cast his sight
Through thick of bars, that gave a scanty light. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thick-and-thin block (Naut.), a fiddle block. See under Fiddle. --
Through thick and thin, through all obstacles and difficulties, both great and small. [ 1913 Webster ]

Through thick and thin she followed him. Hudibras. [ 1913 Webster ]

He became the panegyrist, through thick and thin, of a military frenzy. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The bullfinch. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Thickened p. pr. & vb. n. Thickening. ] To make thick (in any sense of the word). Specifically: -- [ 1913 Webster ]

(a) To render dense; to inspissate; as, to thicken paint. [ 1913 Webster ]

(b) To make close; to fill up interstices in; as, to thicken cloth; to thicken ranks of trees or men. [ 1913 Webster ]

(c) To strengthen; to confirm. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

And this may to thicken other proofs. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

(d) To make more frequent; as, to thicken blows. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To become thick. “Thy luster thickens when he shines by.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The press of people thickens to the court. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

The combat thickens, like the storm that flies. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Something put into a liquid or mass to make it thicker. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. þiccet. See Thick, a. ] A wood or a collection of trees, shrubs, etc., closely set; as, a ram caught in a thicket. Gen. xxii. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A thick-headed or stupid person. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Any one of several species of Australian singing birds of the genus Pachycephala. The males of some of the species are bright-colored. Some of the species are popularly called thrushes. [ 1913 Webster ]