Word.ws English Dictionary

thick of things

thick of things noun: a central or major role in a situation; a position in which one is surrounded by or very involved in complex, changing events.

Noun

the thick of things

  1. (idiomatic) A central or major role in a situation; a position in which one is surrounded by or very involved in complex, changing events.
    • Christ calls for large ideas, bold enterprise, heavy undertakings, brave adventure, and heroic plunging into the thick of things.1888, Joseph Augustus Seiss, Lectures on the Gospels, vol. 2, Lutheran Bookstore (Philadelphia), p. 767
    • Second base is a pleasurable post for the reason that the man covering it is in the thick of things at all times.1935 July 3, Charley Gehringer, “Second Base is Toughest Position to Play”, in Pittsburgh Press, page 13

Questions about thick of things

What does thick of things mean?
Thick of things means a central or major role in a situation; a position in which one is surrounded by or very involved in complex, changing events.
What part of speech is thick of things?
Thick of things is a noun.

Words near thick of things in the dictionary

  1. thick ear
  2. thick ears
  3. thick end
  4. thick lip
  5. thick lips
  6. thick of things
  7. thick on the ground
  8. thick origami
  9. thick sandwich course
  10. thick sandwich courses
  11. thick sandwich degree

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: thick of things (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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