- thing
- noun1 used instead of the name of an objectADJECTIVE▪ basic, essential▪
I need to buy a few basic things like bread and milk.
VERB + THING▪ make▪He makes things out of wood.
2 things objects/clothing/toolsADJECTIVE▪ breakfast, lunch, etc. (all esp. BrE)▪He hadn't washed up the dinner things yet.
▪ swimming, tennis, etc. (all esp. BrE)VERB + THINGS▪ get together, pack▪Come on kids, get your things together—we're going.
▪ put on, take off▪Hang on a second—I'll just take off my painting things (= clothes).
▪ put away▪ clear away, clear up, stow (esp. AmE), tidy away (esp. BrE), tidy up (esp. BrE)▪Clear your painting things (= materials) away.
3 a thing (used with negatives) anythingVERB + A THING▪ hear, know, notice, see▪I can't see a thing without my glasses.
▪ miss▪I'm going to arrive early because I don't want to miss a thing.
▪ do▪She's tricked you, and you can't do a thing about it.
▪ eat▪I haven't eaten a thing all day.
▪ say▪Nobody said a thing when he appeared with a wig on.
▪ mean▪Fame and fortune don't mean a thing if you don't have happiness.
4 fact/event/situation/actionADJECTIVE▪ good, great, positive▪It's a good thing you remembered to turn off the gas!
▪The best thing would be to apologize straight away.
▪If she works hard she's capable of great things.
▪Try to look on your rejection as a positive thing.
▪ beautiful, cool (informal), lovely (esp. BrE), nice, wonderful▪ bad, negative▪Too much studying can be a bad thing.
▪It's no bad thing to express your anger.
▪ appalling (esp. BrE), awful, dreadful, horrible, terrible▪That was a horrible thing to say to her.
▪ sad▪ amazing, curious, exciting, extraordinary, funny, interesting, odd, remarkable, startling, strange, striking, surprising, weird▪The amazing thing is, he wouldn't accept any money!
▪ frightening▪ annoying▪ foolish, ridiculous, silly, stupid▪I admit it was a foolish thing to do.
▪ clever (esp. BrE), smart (esp. AmE)▪That wasn't a very smart thing to do!
▪ big, crucial, important, key, main, vital▪The key thing is to remain calm.
▪ little, the slightest, small, trivial▪I give thanks for every little thing.
▪He loses his temper at the slightest thing.
▪It's such a small thing to ask.
▪ easy, simple▪Apologizing is never the easiest thing to do.
▪ difficult, hard▪ brave, dangerous, risky▪ sure (esp. AmE)▪His new film seems like a sure thing (= a certain success).
▪ natural▪Entertaining people is the most natural thing in the world for her.
▪ close (esp. BrE), close-run (BrE)▪I managed to get on the train, but it was a close thing (= I almost missed it).
▪ rare▪ everyday▪She helped with the everyday things like shopping and cooking.
▪ usual▪I did my usual thing of losing my keys.
▪ nearest, next-best▪He's the nearest thing to a movie star I've ever met.
▪I wanted to be a musician, but teaching music is the next-best thing.
▪ first▪She said the first thing that came into her head.
▪ next▪What's the next thing you want me to do?
▪ last▪The last thing she wanted was to upset her parents.
▪ real▪It's just a practice, not the real thing.
▪ the whole▪Let's forget the whole thing.
… OF THINGS▪ loads (esp. BrE), lots, plenty, tons▪I have loads of things to do today.
▪There are plenty of things to say about it.
VERB + THING▪ do▪He has a funny way of doing things.
▪It's impossible to get things done when you're taking care of a baby.
▪ make up, say▪Who's been saying things about me?
▪ be hearing/imagining/seeing▪There's nobody at the door—you must have been imagining things!
THING + VERB▪ go on, happen, occur▪There are some weird things going on in that house.
▪A funny thing happened to me this morning …
PREPOSITION▪ thing about▪The best thing about Alan is he's always honest.
PHRASES▪ among other things▪Among other things, I have to deal with mail and keep the accounts.
▪ have better things to do▪I've better things to do than stand here chatting all day!
▪ kind/sort of thing▪They go canoeing, climbing, that sort of thing.
▪ know/learn/teach sb a thing or two▪Jack knows a thing or two about kids—he has five.
▪ the next big thing▪Advertising on blogs is going to be the next big thing.
▪ no such thing▪There's no such thing as ghosts (= they don't exist).
▪ one thing leads to another▪One thing led to another and we ended up dating.
▪ such a thing/a thing like that▪People defraud their companies every day, but Mike would never do such a thing!
▪ a thing of the past▪Books may one day become a thing of the past.
5 things general situation, as it affects sbVERB + THINGS▪ think over/through▪She's taken a few days off to think things over.
▪ look at, see▪Try to look at things from my point of view.
▪ discuss, talk over, talk through▪We arranged to meet and talk things over.
▪ explain▪ accept▪You should suggest changes, rather than accept things as they are.
▪ change▪ arrange, deal with, fix, handle, look after (esp. BrE), run, sort out, take care of▪I want to get things sorted out before I go away.
▪Who's going to take care of things while you're away?
▪ straighten out▪ work out▪I have to work things out my own way.
▪ mess up, spoil▪ complicate▪Sorry, I didn't mean to complicate things.
▪ patch up▪They patched things up a week after their quarrel.
▪ speed along/up▪It might speed things up if you call them.
▪ hold up, slow downTHINGS + VERB▪ stand▪As things stand at present, he seems certain to win.
▪ be going▪He asked me how things were going.
▪ change▪ go according to plan, go to plan, go well, work, work out▪I just don't know if things are going to work out.
▪ get better, improve, look up▪We were in trouble but now things are looking up.
▪ look bright, look good, look promising, look rosy▪There was a week to go to the deadline and things were looking good.
▪ look bleak, look grim▪Things looked bleak for the future of the factory.
▪ be in a mess, get into a mess, get out of control, get out of hand, go wrong▪ get worse, go downhill▪ turn out▪I'm sure things will turn out OK.
▪ come to a head▪Things came to a head when money was found to be missing from the account.
▪ get to sb▪Try not to let things get to you.
PHRASES▪ all things being equal, other things being equal▪All other things being equal, the bigger fighter should win.
▪ all things considered▪All things considered, I think we've done a good job.
▪ get/keep things going, get/keep things moving▪They hired temporary staff to keep things going over the summer.
▪ get things straight, put things straight, set things straight▪I marched into his office to get a few things straight.
▪ get things under control, have things under control, keep things under control▪He offered to help, but she assured him she had things under control.
▪ have things on your mind▪We chatted about school, but I could tell she had other things on her mind.
▪ let things slide, let things slip▪She'd started the term studying hard, but now was beginning to let things slip.
▪ let things run their course, let things happen, let things take their course▪Don't worry about it—just let things take their course.
▪ make things better, easier, difficult, worse, etc.▪Her apology only served to make things worse.
▪ put things right▪He apologized, and asked for a chance to put things right.
▪ things to come▪The pay cut was just a taste of things to come.
6 what is needed/socially acceptableADJECTIVE▪ proper, right▪He did the right thing and went back to his wife.
▪I did all the right things but I couldn't get the engine to start.
▪ wrong▪She always manages to say the wrong thing.
▪ logical, obvious, prudent, sensible▪Calling a doctor seemed the logical thing to do.
▪ decent, done (esp. BrE), honourable/honorable▪He did the decent thing and resigned.
▪It's not the done thing to ask someone how much they earn.
▪ very▪Iced tea—the very thing!
VERB + THING▪ do▪ sayPHRASES▪ just the thing, not quite the thing▪It wouldn't be quite the thing to turn up in running gear.
7 a person/an animalADJECTIVE▪ little▪The baby's a pretty little thing.
▪ pretty, sweet▪Abby is just the sweetest little thing!
▪ old, young▪ silly▪ poor▪You must be starving, you poor thing!
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
