thicken
pronunciation
How to pronounce thicken in British English:
UK [ˈθɪkən]
How to pronounce thicken in American English:
US [ˈθɪkən]
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- Verb:
- make thick or thicker
- become thick or thicker
- make viscous or dense
Word Origin
- thicken (v.)
- late 14c. (transitive), 1590s (intransitive), from thick + -en (1). Related: Thickened; thickening. An earlier verb was Middle English thick, Old English þiccian "to thicken, to crowd together."
Example
- 1. Some less scrupulous people in the fashion industry also uses human hair to thicken the pile of fur coats .
- 2. When that happens , the walls of the airways thicken and produce more mucus than usual , which clogs them up .
- 3. Native grasses , a natural habitat for badgers and coyotes , still thicken the sod .
- 4. Over the years , the heart and artery walls thicken and stiffen , which often results in high blood pressure and plaque buildup .
- 5. And in a warmer world the sort of cold conditions that used to allow the ice to thicken and reinforce itself are that bit less common , so opportunities to reverse the trend are rare .