thong
/θɔŋ/noun
thong is spelled T-H-O-N-G: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, thong means “A narrow strip of material, typically leather, used to fasten, bind, or secure objects” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of thong is thongs.
How many letters and syllables are in thong?
| Letters | 5: T-H-O-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,536th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 thong?
Thong appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,536th 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 thong?
- UK /θɒŋ/
- US /θɔŋ/
- /θɑŋ/
Thong has one syllable (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-au-thong.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with thong?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as thong from its last stressed vowel (/ɔŋ/):
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 thong
- thongs plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thong mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A narrow strip of material, typically leather, used to fasten, bind, or secure objects.
- 2
AustraliadatedAn item of footwear, usually of rubber, secured by two straps which join to pass between the big toe and its neighbour.
- 3
UKUSAn item of clothing, usually an undergarment or swimwear consisting of very narrow strips designed to cover just the genitals and nothing more.
She was impressed by her friend's confidence to wear a thong on the crowded beach.
- 4
The largest section of a bullwhip constructed of many straps of braided leather.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thong in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | lanière , tong, clic-clac, gougoune, tapette, claquette |
| German | Lederriemen , Flipflop, Badelatschen , Tanga, Tangaslip |
| Portuguese | tira de couro , chinelo, chinelo de dedo, sandália japonesa, sandália havaiana |
| Spanish | correa , chancleta, calipso, chola, hawaiana , tanga |
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 thong come from?
From Middle English thong, thwong, thwang, from Old English þwong, þwang (“thong, band, strap, cord, strip of leather; phylactery”), from Proto-West Germanic *þwangi, from Proto-Germanic *þwangiz, *þwanguz (“coercion, constraint, band, clamp, strap”), from Proto-Indo-European *twenk- (“to squeeze, press, pressure”). Cognate with Scots thwang, thwayng, thang (“thong”), Middle Low German dwenge (“clamp, jaws, steel-trap”), German Zwinge (“vise, clamp”), Danish tvinge (“clamp”), dialectal Norwegian tveng (“shoestrap, shoelace”), Swedish tving (“clamp”), Icelandic þvengur (“strap, thong, latchet”)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).