thug

(thŭg)

1. A cutthroat or ruffian; a hoodlum.

2. also Thug One of a group of professional criminals, devotees of Kali, who robbed and murdered travelers in northern India until the mid-1800s.

[Hindi ṭhag, perhaps from Sanskrit sthagaḥ, a cheat, from sthagati, sthagayati, he conceals; see (s)teg- in Indo-European roots.]

thug′ger·y n.

thug′gish adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

thug

(θʌɡ)

1. a tough and violent man, esp a criminal

2. (Historical Terms) (sometimes capital) (formerly) a member of an organization of robbers and assassins in India who typically strangled their victims

[C19: from Hindi thag thief, from Sanskrit sthaga scoundrel, from sthagati to conceal]

ˈthuggery n

ˈthuggish adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

thug

(θʌg)

n.

1. a vicious criminal or ruffian.

2. (sometimes cap.) a member of a fraternity of professional robbers and murderers in India, suppressed by the British in the 19th century.

[1800–10; < Hindi thag literally, rogue, cheat]

thug′ger•y, n.

thug′gish, adj.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

thug - an aggressive and violent young criminal

hood, hoodlum, punk, strong-armer, toughie, goon, tough

bully - a hired thug

criminal, crook, felon, malefactor, outlaw - someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime

thug

noun ruffian, hooligan, tough, heavy (slang), killer, murderer, robber, gangster, assassin, bandit, mugger (informal), cut-throat, bully boy, bruiser (informal), boot boy, tsotsi (S. African) the cowardly thugs who mug old people

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

thug

noun

A person who treats others violently and roughly, especially for hire:

hoodlum, ruffian, tough.

Informal: hooligan.

Slang: goon, gorilla, hood.

Translations

سَفَّاحسَفّاح، سَفّاك

banditachuligán

bølle

Gewaltverbrecher Schläger Schlägertyp

κακοποιός

matón gamberro

kovanaamaroisto

voyou

siledžija

banditaorgyilkos

óòokki

delinquente facinoroso

凶悪犯

흉악한 악당

bandīts

misdadiger

banditt

bandyta

bandido criminosofacinoramalfeitor

бандит головорез убийца

nasilnež

ligist

อันธพาล

eşkıya haydut

du côn

暴徒凶手

thug

[θʌg] N → matón/ona m/f (fig) (as term of abuse) → bruto m, bestia f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

thug

[ˈθʌg] n → voyou m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

thug

n → Schlägertyp m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

thug

[θʌg] n → teppista m/f, delinquente m/f

thug

(θag) noun

a violent, brutal person. Where are the young thugs who robbed the old man?

thug

→ سَفَّاح chuligán bølle Schlägertyp κακοποιός matón kovanaama voyou siledžija delinquente 凶悪犯 흉악한 악당 misdadiger banditt bandyta criminoso бандит ligist อันธพาล eşkıya du côn 暴徒

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

A CHIEF of Police who had seen an Officer beating a Thug was very indignant, and said he must not do so any more on pain of dismissal.

"But," said the Officer, still smiling, "it was a stuffed Thug."

View in context

Nobody'll share his slightest care, He classes with thugs and crooks.

"Nobody loves a mil-yun-aire, Nobody likes his looks, Nobody'll share his slightest care, He classes with thugs and crooks."

"Nobody likes a mil-yun-aire, Nobody likes hia looks, Nobody'll share his slightest care, He classes with thugs and crooks."

View in context

They were behind with their rent all the time, but the company was good to them; there was some politics back of that, Grandmother Majauszkiene could not say just what, but the Laffertys had belonged to the "War Whoop League," which was a sort of political club of all the thugs and rowdies in the district; and if you belonged to that, you could never be arrested for anything.

View in context

Thugs went into the corner shop at around 6.20pm and threatened two female employees with a knife.

Knife thugs terror for shop staff

Our story of three thugs who beat up a man on a train, stamping on his head, were let off prison, angered readers...

Soft sentence won't deter vile train thugs; "You say... "

The third thug was a black youth around 13 or 14 years old.

Police make new appeal over thugs' attack

POLICE were last night hunting two thugs who robbed a 78 year-old man in his own home, it emerged last night.

OAP robbed in own home

Bellona's residents (mostly poor and black) live on looted cans of food; there's no economy to speak of, gossip is the most highly valued commodity, and a gang of thugs (eventually headed by the main character, Kid, an amnesiac and possibly Native American poet) runs a haphazard protection racket.

Dhalgren in New Orleans: a classic science fiction novel comes to life in the big easy