thrust
/θɹʌst/noun, verb
thrust is spelled T-H-R-U-S-T: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 7.2 times per million words in written English, the 8,784th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, thrust means “An attack made by moving the sword parallel to its length and landing with the point” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of thrust is thrusts.
How many letters and syllables are in thrust?
| Letters | 6: T-H-R-U-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.2 times per million words; the 8,784th 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 thrust?
Thrust appears 7.2 times per million words in written English, the 8,784th 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 thrust?
- /θɹʌst/
- /θɹʊst/
Thrust 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-thrust.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of thrust
- thrusts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- thrusting participle, present
- thrusted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thrust mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An attack made by moving the sword parallel to its length and landing with the point.
Pierre was a master swordsman, and could parry the thrusts of lesser men with barely a thought.
- 2
A push, stab, or lunge forward.
The cutpurse tried to knock her satchel from her hands, but she avoided his thrust and yelled, "Thief!"
- 3
The force generated by propulsion, as in a jet engine.
Spacecraft are engineering marvels, designed to resist the thrust of liftoff, as well as the reverse pressure of the void.
- 4
The primary effort; the goal.
Ostensibly, the class was about public health in general, but the main thrust was really sex education.
verb
- 1
To make advance with force.
We thrust at the enemy with our forces.
- 2
To force something upon someone.
I asked her not to thrust the responsibility on me.
- 3
To push out or extend rapidly or powerfully.
He thrust his arm into the icy stream and grabbed a wriggling fish, astounding the observers.
- 4
To push or drive with force; to shove.
to thrust anything with the hand or foot, or with an instrument
- 5
To enter by pushing; to squeeze in.
- 6
To stab; to pierce; usually with through.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thrust in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | estocade , poussée , propulser |
| German | Stoß , Schub, Schubkraft , schieben , Stich, Vorstoß |
| Portuguese | estocada , empurrar , impulso, ímpeto, ataque , ênfase |
| Spanish | estocada , propulsar , empuje, envión , énfasis , forzar |
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 thrust come from?
From Middle English þrusten, from Old Norse þrysta, from Proto-Germanic *þrustijaną, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *trewd-.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).