thug
/θʌɡ/noun, verb
thug is spelled T-H-U-G: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,368th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, thug means “A person who is a member of a gang or criminal organization” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of thug is thugs.
How many letters and syllables are in thug?
| Letters | 4: T-H-U-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.0 times per million words; the 15,368th 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 thug?
Thug appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,368th 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 thug?
- US /θʌɡ/
- Australia /θɐɡ/
- /θʊɡ/
Thug 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-thug.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with thug?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as thug from its last stressed vowel (/ʌɡ/):
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 thug
- thugs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- thugging participle, present
- thugged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thug mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A person who is a member of a gang or criminal organization.
- 2
A violent, aggressive, or truculent person.
- 3
A criminal that extorts people.
- 4
A person who use intimidation to coerce others.
- 5
One of a band of assassins formerly active in northern India who worshipped Kali and sacrificed their victims to her.
- 6
One who, usually as a result of social disadvantage, has turned to committing crimes (e.g. selling drugs, robbery, assault, etc.) to make a living; a gangsta.
- 7
An overvigorous plant that spreads and dominates the flowerbed.
- 8
A wooden bat used in the game of miniten, fitting around the player's hand.
verb
- 1
informalTo commit acts of thuggery, to live the life of a thug, to menace, to commit crime.
- 2
informal(often with out) To appear as a thug; to dress and act in a manner reminiscent of a thug.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thug in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense someone who treats others violently or roughly:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bandit, voyou, casseur, racaille, thug, coupe-jarret |
| German | Schurke, Rowdy, Schläger, Randalierer |
| Portuguese | bandido, facínora, malfeitor, capanga |
| Spanish | matón, macarra, rufián |
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 thug come from?
Borrowed from Hindustani ठग (ṭhag) / ٹھگ (ṭhag, “swindler, fraud, cheat”), further derived from Prakrit 𑀞𑀕 (ṭhaga), of uncertain origin. See there for more. Thuggee was a network of gangs in India from the 17th century to the 19th century who robbed and murdered travellers, often by strangling. During British Imperial rule of India, many Indian words passed into common English, and by 1810 thug referred to a member of these Indian gangs. The sense was adopted more generally as "ruffian, cutthroat, and cruel robber" by 1839. Perhaps related to English thatch, deck.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).