thickset

/ˈθɪkˌsɛt/

thickset adjective: having a relatively short, heavy build.

Adjective

thickset (comparative more thickset, superlative most thickset)

Having a relatively short, heavy build.
- a thickset, muscular figure
- a thickset workhorse
Synonyms:

big-boned, stocky, stout, bulbous, corpulent, curvy, Daniel Lambertish, eurysome, famine resistant, gravitationally challenged

Antonyms:

sleek, slender, slim, svelte, willowy
Densely crowded together; made up of things that are densely crowded together; closely planted.
- a thickset wood
- a thickset hedge
Synonyms:

dense, thick

Antonyms:

sparse, thin
Densely covered (with something).
- a gully thickset with brambles
- […] in a vessell being thick set with sharpe nayles, he tormented him to the poynt of death:1583, John Foxe, Acts and Monuments, London: John Day, Book 4, “The tragicall historie of Gregorie the vij. otherwise named Hildebrand,” p. 177

thickset (countable and uncountable, plural thicksets)

(countable, obsolete) A thick hedge.
- Had Darrell been placed amidst the circumstances that make happy the homes of earnest men, Darrell would have been mirthful; had Waife been placed amongst the circumstances that concentrate talent, and hedge round life with trained thicksets and belting laurels, Waife would have been grave.1858, Edward Bulwer-Lytton (as Pisistratus Caxton), What Will He Do with It? Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, Volume 4, Book 11, Chapter 7, p. 294
(historical, uncountable) A stout, twilled cotton cloth; a fustian corduroy, or velveteen.
- When he, with thickset coat of Badge-man’s blue,
  Moves near her shaded silk of changeful hue;1812, George Crabbe, Tales, London: J. Hatchard, Tale 4, “Procrastination,” p. 73
- His breeches were of the homeliest thickset;1829, anonymous contributor, “A Day at Fontainebleau.—The Royal Hunt,” The Monthly Magazine, New Series, Volume 7, No. 37, January 1829, p. 12
(countable, historical) A piece of clothing made from this fabric.
- […] his coat was originally what is called a thickset, but out at the elbows;1785, John Trusler, chapter 17, in Modern Times: or the Adventures of Gabriel Outcast, volume 2, London: for the author, page 27
- I had observed that our landlord wore, on that memorable morning, a pair of bran new velveteens instead of his ancient thicksets.1819, Walter Scott, chapter 1, in The Bride of Lammermoor

heavily built, stocky, sturdy: കുറുകിക്കൊഴുത്ത ശരീരമുള്ള, പൊക്കംകുറഞ്ഞു ദൃഢമായ, സ്ഫീത, തടിച്ച, ബലിഷ്ഠനായ, കുറ്റിയാനായ

ದಪ್ಪ, ತೋರ, ಗಿಡ್ಡ, ದಟ್ಟವಾದ, ಪೊದೆಯಂತೆ ಬೆಳೆಯುವ, ಸ್ಥೂಲಕಾಯದ

Ralph, who was a thickset clownish figure, arrived at his full strength, and conscious of the most complete personal superiority, laughed contemptuously at the threats of the slight-made stripling.1820, [Walter Scott], chapter VII, in The Abbot. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne & Co.] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and...
More than ever Min hated her own thickset, healthy body, her round, red face with its small gray eyes, the mop of auburn hair which Aunt Julie braided so tightly […]1926, Nalbro Bartley, chapter 1, in Her Mother’s Daughter, New York: George H. Doran:
The laborers, too, in white smocks, broad and heavy, a thickset personnel, butchers’ men.1970, Saul Bellow, chapter 6, in Mr. Sammler’s Planet, Penguin, published 1977, page 279:
It was for the arc of lanterned boats to close in and to form the thickset audience, armed and impenetrable.1950, Mervyn Peake, chapter 77, in Gormenghast, London: Eyre and Spottiswoode:

18 more synonymsFewer synonyms

From thick + set.

What does thickset mean?: Thickset means having a relatively short, heavy build.
What is thickset in Malayalam?: Thickset in Malayalam is കുറുകിക്കൊഴുത്ത ശരീരമുള്ള, പൊക്കംകുറഞ്ഞു ദൃഢമായ, സ്ഫീത. See Thickset meaning in Malayalam.
How do you use thickset in a sentence?: Ralph, who was a thickset clownish figure, arrived at his full strength, and conscious of the most complete personal superiority, laughed contemptuously at the threats of the slight-made stripling.
What part of speech is thickset?: Thickset can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce thickset?: Thickset is pronounced /ˈθɪkˌsɛt/.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “thickset.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/thickset. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.