threading Definition

thread
noun

1. A very thin strand of silk, cotton or wool, especially when several such strands are twisted together for sewing.
2. Any naturally formed, very thin strand of fibre, such as that forming a spider's web.

Thesaurus: strand, filament, fibre.
3. Anything like a thread in length and narrowness.
4. The projecting spiral ridge round a screw or bolt, or in a nut.
5. A continuous connecting element or theme in a story or argument, etc.

Example: I lost the thread of what he was saying
Thesaurus: storyline, motif, theme, plot, line, tenor, drift, direction, course.
6. A thin seam or vein of ore or coal.

verb threaded, threading

1. To pass a thread through (eg the eye of a needle).
2. To pass (tape or film, etc) into or through something to put it into its correct position.
3. To string something on a thread or length of string.
tr & intr
4. To make (one's way) carefully (through eg narrow streets or crowded areas).

Thesaurus: string, weave, wind, meander, pass, inch, ease.
5. To streak (hair or the sky, etc) with narrow patches of a different colour.
6. To provide (eg a bolt) with a screw thread.

Idiom: hang by a thread

To be in a very precarious or dangerous state or position.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon.