| Thick – adjective | Thin – adjective |
|---|---|
| thick – having a larger distance between opposite sides or surfaces than other similar objects or than normal | thin – having a smaller distance between opposite sides or surfaces than other similar objects or than normal |
| “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a thick book, it has more than 630 pages.” | “A thin book is good for a short train ride. I can finish the book before my trip is over.” |
| For hair/fur/trees – growing closely together in large numbers | For hair – not growing closely together or in large amounts |
| “There was a thick forest behind my family cottage. I used to play there with my brother.” | “As he got older Phillip gained weight and his hair got thin.” |
| For liquid – not flowing very easily | For liquid – containing more liquid than is normal or expected |
| “I like to eat cream soup in the winter. A hot, thick soup warms up your body.” | “My sister likes thin gravy with turkey, but I think the flavor is too weak.” |
| For fog/smoke/air – difficult to see through; difficult to breathe in | For the air – containing less oxygen than normal |
| “The fog was very thick. We pulled over at the next gas station to wait for the fog to clear.” | “As you climb higher the air becomes thinner and it’s hard to breathe.” |
Thick and Thin
Definitions from oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com
thick – adjective – having a larger distance between opposite sides or surfaces than other similar objects or than normal
thin – adjective – having a smaller distance between opposite sides or surfaces than other similar objects or than normal
a thick book (= one that has a lot of pages) ~ a thin book (= one that doesn’t have many pages)
“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a thick book, it has more than 630 pages.”
“A thin book is good for a short train ride. I can finish the book before my trip is over.”
We often use thick and thin to talk about clothes.
“It’s warm today, you don’t need to wear a thick sweater.”
“This tee shirt is getting thin, time to buy a new one.”
Some other common uses for Thick and Thin
Thick for hair/fur/trees
= growing closely together in large numbers
“His eyebrows were thick and bushy.”
“The hikers got lost in the thick forest.”
Thin for hair
= not growing closely together or in large amounts
“To make a thin gravy you should use more water and less fat and cornstarch.”
“As Kyle got older his hair got thinner.”
Thick for liquid
= not flowing very easily
“I like thick pumpkin soup.”
The mud was very thick after the heavy rain. It was hard to walk through.”
Thin for liquid
= containing more liquid than is normal or expected
“This pasta sauce is very thin, it doesn’t have much flavor.”
Thick for fog/smoke/air
= difficult to see through; difficult to breathe in
“The plane crashed in thick fog.”
“Firefighters use oxygen masks when they battle fires because of the thick smoke caused by burning buildings.”
Thin for the air
= containing less oxygen than normal
“The air is thin at high altitude. Mountain climbers need to carry heavy oxygen tanks to climb high mountains.”
English grammar – comparison
The adjectives Thick and Thin have a comparison form. Here is a Comparison GRAMMAR rule from my blog post Quickly learn Comparison adjectives (English grammar with Video)
One-Syllable Adjectives
We add –er to the end of the adjective.
Examples: cheap – cheaper / hot – hotter / high – higher
The comparison form of thick is thicker.
“My grey sweater is thicker than my blue one.”
The comparison form of thin is thinner. (Spelled with two “N’s”)
“Hi Steve. You look thinner than the last time I saw you. Did you lose weight?”
Superlative form
How to use – English grammar Superlatives (Most, best, biggest)
The way we make superlative adjectives is similar to the way we make comparative adjectives.
One-syllable Adjectives
add ~est to the end of the adjective.
The superlative form of thick is thickest.
“My Orange sweater is the thickest.”
The superlative form of thin is thinnest. (Spelled with two “N’s”)
“I bought the thinnest laptop that the store had.”
The adjective thick can become the verb thicken if we add the suffix EN
thicken verb to become thicker; to make something thicker
“Adding more flour will thicken the stew.”
Comments 1
I love this infographic!