thrive
/θɹajv/verb
thrive is spelled T-H-R-I-V-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, thrive means “To grow or increase stature; to grow vigorously or luxuriantly; to enjoy a state of excellent health and well-being; to flourish” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in thrive?
| Letters | 6: T-H-R-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.4 times per million words; the 10,680th 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 thrive?
Thrive appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th 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 thrive?
- /θɹajv/
Thrive 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-us-thrive.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of thrive
- thrives present, singular, he/she/it
- thriving participle, present
- throve past
- thrived past, participle
- thriven participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thrive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To grow or increase stature; to grow vigorously or luxuriantly; to enjoy a state of excellent health and well-being; to flourish.
Not all animals thrive well in captivity.
- 2
To increase in wealth or success; to prosper, be profitable.
Since expanding in June, the business has really thrived.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thrive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | 1&2: croître, s'épanouir, 2:prospérer , prospérer |
| German | gedeihen, prosperieren , aufblühen, blühen, florieren |
| Portuguese | prosperar, desenvolver-se, crescer |
| Spanish | prosperar, crecer, medrar , florecer |
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 thrive come from?
From Middle English thryven, thriven, from Old Norse þrífa (“to seize, grasp, take hold, prosper”), from Proto-Germanic *þrībaną (“to seize, prosper”), from Proto-Indo-European *trep-, *terp- (“to satisfy, enjoy”). Cognate with Swedish trivas, Danish trives, Norwegian Bokmål trives.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).