thicken
/ˈθɪkən/verb
thicken is spelled T-H-I-C-K-E-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,154th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, thicken means “To make thicker (in the sense of wider)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in thicken?
| Letters | 7: T-H-I-C-K-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 41,154th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is thicken?
Thicken appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,154th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce thicken?
- US /ˈθɪkən/
Thicken has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-thicken.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with thicken?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as thicken (/ɪkən/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: kitchen, chetnik.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of thicken
- thickens present, singular, he/she/it
- thickening participle, present
- thickened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thicken mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make thicker (in the sense of wider).
- 2
To make thicker (in the sense of more viscous).
to thicken a sauce
- 3
To become thicker (in the sense of wider).
- 4
To become thicker (in the sense of more viscous).
- 5
To strengthen; to confirm.
- 6
To make more frequent.
to thicken blows
- 7
To make more detailed or comprehensive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thicken in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does thicken come from?
From Middle English thickenen, thikkenen, perhaps from Old Norse þykkna (“to thicken”); equivalent to thick + -en. Cognate with Swedish tjockna (“to thicken”), Icelandic þykkna (“to thicken”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).