thing (redirected from doing things)

thing  (thng)

n.

1. An entity, an idea, or a quality perceived, known, or thought to have its own existence.

2.

a. The real or concrete substance of an entity.

b. An entity existing in space and time.

c. An inanimate object.

3. Something referred to by a word, a symbol, a sign, or an idea; a referent.

4. A creature: the poor little thing.

5. An individual object: There wasn't a thing in sight.

6.

a. Law That which can be possessed or owned. Often used in the plural: things personal; things real.

b. things Possessions; belongings: packed her things and left.

c. An article of clothing: Put on your things and let's go.

7. things The equipment needed for an activity or a special purpose: Where are my cleaning things?

8. An object or entity that is not or cannot be named specifically: What is this thing for?

9.

a. An act, deed, or work: promised to do great things.

b. The result of work or activity: is always building things.

10. A thought, a notion, or an utterance: What a rotten thing to say!

11. A piece of information: wouldn't tell me a thing about the project.

12. A means to an end: just the thing to increase sales.

13. An end or objective: In blackjack, the thing is to get nearest to 21 without going over.

14. A matter of concern: many things on my mind.

15. A turn of events; a circumstance: The accident was a terrible thing.

16.

a. things The general state of affairs; conditions: "Beneath the smooth surface of things, something was wrong" Tom Wicker.

b. A particular state of affairs; a situation: Let's deal with this thing promptly.

17. Informal A persistent illogical feeling, as a desire or an aversion; an obsession: has a thing about seafood.

18. Informal The latest fad or fashion; the rage: Drag racing was the thing then.

19. Slang An activity uniquely suitable and satisfying to one: Let him do his own thing. See Synonyms at forte¹.

Idioms:

first thing Informal

Right away; before anything else: Do your assignments first thing in the morning.

see/hear things

To have hallucinations.

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[Middle English, from Old English.]

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thing

Noun

1. any physical object that is not alive: there are very few jobs left where people actually make things

2. an object, fact, circumstance, or concept considered as being a separate entity: that would be a terrible thing to do

3. an object or entity that cannot or need not be precisely named: squares and circles and things

4. Informal a person or animal: pretty little thing, isn't she?

5. a possession, article of clothing, etc.: have you brought your swimming things?

6. Informal a preoccupation or obsession: they have this thing about policemen

7. do one's own thing to engage in an activity or mode of behaviour satisfying to one's personality

8. make a thing of to exaggerate the importance of

9. the thing the latest fashion [Old English: assembly]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	thing - a special situation; "this thing has got to end"; "it is a remarkable thing" situation, state of affairs - the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time; "the present international situation is dangerous"; "wondered how such a state of affairs had come about"; "eternal truths will be neither true nor eternal unless they have fresh meaning for every new social situation"- Franklin D.Roosevelt
	2.	thing - an action; "how could you do such a thing?" action - something done (usually as opposed to something said); "there were stories of murders and other unnatural actions"
	3.	thing - a special abstraction; "a thing of the spirit"; "things of the heart" abstract, abstraction - a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance; "he loved her only in the abstract--not in person"
	4.	thing - an artifact; "how does this thing work?" artefact, artifact - a man-made object taken as a whole flagship - the chief one of a related group; "it is their flagship newspaper" pill - something that resembles a tablet of medicine in shape or size snorter - something that is extraordinary or remarkable or prominent; "a snorter of a sermon"; "the storm wasn't long but it was a snorter" standby - something that can be relied on when needed variation - an artifact that deviates from a norm or standard; "he patented a variation on the sandal" wobbler - something that wobbles
	5.	thing - an event; "a funny thing happened on the way to the..." happening, natural event, occurrence, occurrent - an event that happens feast - something experienced with great delight; "a feast for the eyes"
	6.	thing - a vaguely specified concern; "several matters to attend to"; "it is none of your affair"; "things are going well" affair, matter concern - something that interests you because it is important or affects you; "the safety of the ship is the captain's concern" least - something that is of no importance; "it is the least I can do"; "that is the least of my concerns"
	7.	thing - a statement regarded as an object; "to say the same thing in other terms"; "how can you say such a thing?" statement - a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc; "according to his statement he was in London on that day"
	8.	thing - an entity that is not named specifically; "I couldn't tell what the thing was" entity - that which is perceived or known or inferred to have its own distinct existence (living or nonliving) change - a thing that is different; "he inspected several changes before selecting one" freshener - anything that freshens horror - something that inspires dislike; something horrible; "the painting that others found so beautiful was a horror to him" crackerjack, jimdandy, jimhickey - something excellent of its kind; "the bike was a jimdandy" pacifier - anything that serves to pacify security blanket - anything that an adult person uses to reduce anxiety stinker - anything that gives off an offensive odor (especially a cheap cigar) whacker, whopper - something especially big or impressive of its kind
	9.	thing - any attribute or quality considered as having its own existence; "the thing I like about her is ..." attribute - an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity
	10.	thing - a special objective; "the thing is to stay in bounds" objective, aim, object, target - the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable); "the sole object of her trip was to see her children"
	11.	thing - a persistent illogical feeling of desire or aversion; "he has a thing about seafood"; "she has a thing about him" feeling - the experiencing of affective and emotional states; "she had a feeling of euphoria"; "he had terrible feelings of guilt"; "I disliked him and the feeling was mutual"
	12.	thing - a separate and self-contained entity physical entity - an entity that has physical existence depicted object, subject, content - something (a person or object or scene) selected by an artist or photographer for graphic representation; "a moving picture of a train is more dramatic than a still picture of the same subject" body of water, water - the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean); "they invaded our territorial waters"; "they were sitting by the water's edge" inessential, nonessential - anything that is not essential; "they discarded all their inessentials" essential, necessary, requisite, necessity, requirement - anything indispensable; "food and shelter are necessities of life"; "the essentials of the good life"; "allow farmers to buy their requirements under favorable conditions"; "a place where the requisites of water fuel and fodder can be obtained" part, piece - a portion of a natural object; "they analyzed the river into three parts"; "he needed a piece of granite" reservoir, source - anything (a person or animal or plant or substance) in which an infectious agent normally lives and multiplies; "an infectious agent depends on a reservoir for its survival" building block, unit - a single undivided natural thing occurring in the composition of something else; "units of nucleic acids" variable - something that is likely to vary; something that is subject to variation; "the weather is one variable to be considered"

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thing

noun 1. object, article, implement, machine, device, tool, instrument, mechanism, apparatus, gadget, gizmo (informal) contrivance, whatsit (informal) doo-dah (informal) thingummy (informal) thingummyjig (informal)

noun 2. substance, stuff, element, being, body, material, fabric, texture, entity

noun 3. concept, idea, notion, conception

noun 4. matter, issue, subject, thought, concern, worry, topic, preoccupation

noun 5. affair, situation, state of affairs, state, circumstance, scenario

noun 6. fact, detail, particular, point, factor, piece of information

noun 7. feature, point, detail, something, particular, factor, item, aspect, facet

noun 8. happening, event, incident, proceeding, phenomenon, occurrence, eventuality

noun 9. (Informal) phobia, fear, complex, horror, terror, hang-up (informal) aversion, neurosis, bee in your bonnet (informal)

noun 10. (Informal) obsession, liking, preoccupation, mania, quirk, fetish, fixation, soft spot, predilection, idée fixe (French)

noun 11. remark, comment, statement, observation, declaration, utterance, pronouncement

noun 12. (often plural) possessions, stuff, gear, belongings, goods, effects, clothes, luggage, baggage, bits and pieces, paraphernalia, clobber Brit. (slang) odds and ends, chattels, impedimenta

noun 13. equipment, gear, tool, stuff, tackle, implement, kit, apparatus, utensil, accoutrement

noun 14. circumstances, the situation, the state of affairs, matters, life, affairs

Translations

thing [θɪŋ] n → cosa (= object); objeto, artículo (= contraption); chisme m (= mania); manía;

things npl (= belongings) → cosas fpl;

the best thing would be to ... → lo mejor sería ...;

the main thing is ... → lo principal es ...;

first thing (in the morning) → a primera hora (de la mañana);

last thing (at night) → a última hora (de la noche);

the thing is ... → lo que pasa es que ...;

how are things? → ¿qué tal van las cosas?;

she's got a thing about mice → le dan no sé qué los ratones;

poor thing! → ¡pobre! m/f; ¡pobrecito/a!

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thing [θɪŋ] n → chose f (= object); objet m (= contraption); truc m;

things npl (= belongings) → affaires fpl;

first thing (in the morning) → à la première heure, tout de suite (le matin);

last thing (at night), he ... → juste avant de se coucher, il ...;

the thing is ... → c'est que ...;

for one thing → d'abord;

the best thing would be to → le mieux serait de;

how are things? → comment ça va?;

to have a thing about (= be obsessed by) → être obsédé(e) par (= hate); détester;

poor thing! → le (or la) pauvre!

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thing [θɪŋ] n → Ding nt;

(matter) → Sache f;

(inf);

to have a thing about sth (be fascinated by) → wie besessen sein von etw;

(hate) → etw nicht ausstehen können;

things npl (= belongings) → Sachen pl;

to do sth first thing (every morning/tomorrow morning) → etw (morgens/morgen früh) als Erstes tun;

I look awful first thing in the morning → ich sehe frühmorgens immer furchtbar aus;

to do sth last thing (at night) → etw als Letztes (am Abend) tun;

the thing is ... → die Sache ist die: ...;

for one thing → zunächst mal;

don't worry about a thing → du brauchst dir überhaupt keine Sorgen zu machen;

you'll do no such thing! → das lässt du schön bleiben!;

poor thing → armes Ding;

the best thing would be to ... → das Beste wäre, zu ...;

how are things? → wie gehts?

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thing [θɪŋ] n → cosa (= object); oggetto (= contraption); aggeggio;

things npl (= belongings) → cose fpl;

for one thing → tanto per cominciare;

the best thing would be to → la cosa migliore sarebbe di;

the thing is ... → il fatto è che ...;

the main thing is to ... → la cosa più importante è di ...;

first thing (in the morning) → come or per prima cosa (di mattina);

last thing (at night) → come or per ultima cosa (di sera);

poor thing → poveretto/a;

she's got a thing about mice → è terrorizzata dai topi;

how are things? → come va?