thanked; thanking; thanks

transitive verb

1
: to express gratitude to
thanked her for the present
used in the phrase thank you usually without a subject to politely express gratitude
thank you for your consideration
or sometimes to emphasize a preceding statement especially by implying that it is not subject to question
likes her job just fine, thank you
used in such phrases as thank God, thank goodness usually without a subject to express gratitude or more often only the speaker's or writer's pleasure or satisfaction in something
2
: to hold responsible
had only himself to thank for his loss
thanker noun

Examples of thank in a Sentence

I want to thank everyone who helped today. There's no need to thank me. Anyone would have done the same.
Recent Examples on the Web The image was released on Sunday with a message from the princess thanking the public for its support while marking Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom. Mitchell McCluskey, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 Jihan found some dry clothes and swaddled Raba, who thanked her profusely. Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 The first photo of Kate, Princess of Wales, was issued Sunday on social media along with a statement thanking the public for all their support. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 11 Mar. 2024 Don’t be up in here thanking your agents, your publicists, your tax preparer, studio execs. Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Mar. 2024 The King recorded a message for the annual church service thanking people for their good wishes during his cancer King Charles is thanking people across the world for their good wishes amid his cancer treatment. Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 And Yorgos, thank you for the gift of a lifetime, and Bella Baxter. Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 11 Mar. 2024 All right, Leader, thank you for your time this morning. CBS News, 10 Mar. 2024 In his speech, Göransson thanked his parents for giving him instruments instead of video games, as well as director Christopher Nolan for inviting him to score the film in the first place. Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 10 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thank.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English thancian; akin to Old English thanc gratitude — more at thanks

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of thank was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near thank

Cite this Entry

“Thank.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thank. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

thank

verb
1
: to express gratitude to
thanked her for the present
2
: to hold responsible
had only myself to thank for my loss

More from Merriam-Webster on thank

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!