- thread
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 piece of cotton, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ strong▪ delicate (usually figurative), fine, fragile (usually figurative), thin▪
Our lives hang by a fragile thread.
▪ loose▪ matching▪ cotton, gold, silk, etc.▪ embroidery, sewing▪ warp, weft… OF THREAD▪ length, pieceVERB + THREAD▪ spin▪ pull▪You've pulled a thread in your sweater.
▪ cutPHRASES▪ hanging by a thread (often figurative)▪The player's career is hanging by a thread after this latest injury to his knee.
▪ needle and thread2 connection between ideas, parts of a story, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ central, main▪ common, connecting▪ consistent, continuous▪ narrative, plot▪ loose▪Apart from one or two loose threads, the police now had the complete picture of what happened.
VERB + THREAD▪ have▪These stories have no real common thread.
▪ follow, trace▪I found it hard to follow the main thread of his argument.
▪ find▪Police have not been able to find a common thread linking the victims.
▪ lose▪The speaker lost his thread halfway through the talk.
▪ keep▪She struggled against all the interruptions to keep the thread of her argument.
▪ draw together, pick up, pull together, weave▪The author eventually picks up the various threads of the plot and weaves them into a masterly conclusion.
THREAD + VERB▪ run through sth▪A continuous thread runs through all the versions of the legend.
▪ connect, link▪ emerge▪On studying the different historians' accounts, common threads emerge.
▪ unravel▪As the movie progresses, the threads of the plot slowly begin to unravel.
3 series of connected messagesADJECTIVE▪ comment, discussionVERB + THREAD▪ open, start{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}verb
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
