thresh
/θɹɛʃ/verb
thresh is spelled T-H-R-E-S-H: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,980th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, thresh means “To separate the grain from the straw or husks (chaff) by mechanical beating, with a flail or machinery, or by driving animals over them” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in thresh?
| Letters | 6: T-H-R-E-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 74,980th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is thresh?
Thresh appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,980th 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 thresh?
- /θɹɛʃ/
Thresh 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-thresh.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of thresh
- threshes present, singular, he/she/it
- threshing participle, present
- threshed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thresh mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To separate the grain from the straw or husks (chaff) by mechanical beating, with a flail or machinery, or by driving animals over them.
- 2
To be so separated, or to be capable of being so separated.
- 3
To beat soundly, usually with some tool such as a stick or whip; to drub.
- 4
To violently toss the limbs about.
- 5
To belabor; to go over repeatedly, especially an argument.
- 6
To drive through adverse conditions (wind, waves).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thresh in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to separate the grain from the straw or husks:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | battre, fouler |
| German | dreschen |
| Portuguese | malhar, espalhar, debulhar |
| Spanish | trillar, desgranar, apalear, azotar |
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 thresh come from?
From Middle English thrasshen, thresche, threschen, threschyn, threshen, thresshen, tressyn, þreisshe, þresshe, from Old English þerscan, þrexan, from Proto-Germanic *þreskaną (“to thresh; to tread”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, turn; to drill, pierce”). Doublet of thrash.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).