thug

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈθʌg/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/θʌg/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(thug)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
thug /θʌg/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. a vicious or violent criminal.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
thug (thug),USA pronunciation  n. 
  1. a cruel or vicious ruffian, robber, or murderer.
  2. British Empire(sometimes cap.) one of a former group of professional robbers and murderers in India who strangled their victims.
  • Hindi thag literally, rogue, cheat
  • 1800–10;
thug•ger•y  (thug′ə rē),USA pronunciation n.  thug′gish, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
thug /θʌɡ/ n
  1. a tough and violent man, esp a criminal
  2. (sometimes capital) (formerly) a member of an organization of robbers and assassins in India who typically strangled their victims
Etymology: 19th Century: from Hindi thag thief, from Sanskrit sthaga scoundrel, from sthagati to concealˈthuggery n ˈthuggish adj
'thug' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
goon - rough - roughneck - tsotsi - vicious - gangster - gorilla - grapple - hoodlum - ingenious - mug - muscle - yegg - slag
Collocations: a gang of (local) thugs, [mindless, violent, young] thugs, is nothing but a thug, more...

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