Word.ws English Dictionary

threading

/ˈθɹɛdɪŋ/

threading is the present participle and gerund of thread.

Noun

threading (countable and uncountable, plural threadings)

  1. The act or process by which something is threaded (in various senses).
    • The majority, 96.2 percent, of the e-mails had only up to four threadings.2011, Alexander Gelbukh, Computational Linguistics and Intelligent Text Processing, page 236
    • Delighted with the results and eager to try my hand at creating my own Corris-effect drafts, I studied the threading and eventually recognized the pattern. The effect results from three parallel threadings where each end is followed by others of two different colors on the third and sixth shafts...2026, Linda Riley, “Shimmering Wings Scarf”, in Handwoven, volume XLVII, number 1, page 52
  2. An ancient Eastern method for removing hair by means of a thread, which is rolled over the hair in order to pluck it out at the follicle level; especially used in the context of eyebrows.
  3. A screw thread.

Meaning of thread

Verb

thread (third-person singular simple present threads, present participle threading, simple past threaded or (archaic) thrid, past participle threaded or (archaic) thrid or (archaic) thridden)

  1. (transitive) To pass a thread through the eye of a needle.
  2. (transitive) To fix (beads, pearls, etc.) upon a thread that is passed through; to string.
  3. (figuratively, transitive) To make one's way through or between (a constriction or obstacles).
    • to thread through narrow passages
    1. (figuratively, transitive) To cautiously make (one's way) through a precarious place or situation.
      • He threaded his way through legal entanglements.
  4. (figuratively, transitive) To pass through; to pierce through; to penetrate.
    • And when the Miners by theſe Shafts or Adits do ſtrike or threed a Vein of any Metal […] then the Metal which is digged […] is called Oar […]1670, John Pettus, Fodinæ Regales […], London: Printed by H. L. and R. B. […], page 2
  5. (transitive) To interweave as if with thread; to intersperse.
    • [...] the urban landscape threaded with parks and trees to the horizon. The enormous sky over that flat line dazzled clear blue or filled with towers of cumulus clouds.2010 April 1, Gayla Marty, Memory of Trees: A Daughter’s Story of a Family Farm, U of Minnesota Press, →ISBN, page 177

See all 25 meanings of thread

Forms of threading

pluralthreadings

Words formed from threading

Phrases with threading

Words that rhyme with threading

5 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about threading

What does threading mean?
Threading means the act or process by which something is threaded (in various senses).
What is threading the present participle and gerund of?
Threading is the present participle and gerund of thread.
What part of speech is threading?
Threading is a noun.
How do you pronounce threading?
Threading is pronounced /ˈθɹɛdɪŋ/.
What is the plural of threading?
The plural of threading is threadings.

Words near threading in the dictionary

  1. Threadgolds
  2. threadier
  3. threadiest
  4. threadily
  5. threadiness
  6. threading
  7. threading the needle
  8. threadings
  9. threadish
  10. threadjack
  11. threadjacked

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: threading (page history and authors); thread (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-threading.wav.

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