# thug

> English word · Noun · IPA /θʌɡ/ · frequency rank #15,532

## Definitions
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.

## Etymology
From Hindi ठग (ṭhag, “swindler, fraud, cheat”).
Thuggee was a network of gangs in India from the 17th century to the 19th century who robbed and murdered travellers, often by strangling and beating their victims to death. 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. Related to English thatch, deck.

## Easily confused with
- **Tu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tu)
- **thy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-thy)
- **tub** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tub)
- **tug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tug)
- **Tue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tue)
- **tum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tum)
- **tru** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tru)
- **tun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tun)
- **tut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tut)
- **tux** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tux)
- **tig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tig)
- **tui** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tui)
- **tur** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tur)
- **TUC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tuc)
- **Tsu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tsu)
- **true** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-true)
- **tour** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tour)
- **thus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-thus)
- **ting** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-ting)
- **tong** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thug-vs-tong)

## Common misspellings (6)
`htug`, `thgu`, `thhug`, `thugg`, `tthug`, `tuhg`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/thug