thesaurus

[ thi-sawr-uhs ]

noun

, plural the·sau·rus·es, the·sau·ri [-, sawr, -ahy].

1. a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms, such as the online Thesaurus.com.
2. any dictionary, encyclopedia, or other comprehensive reference book.
3. a storehouse, repository, or treasury.
4. Computers.
   1. an index to information stored in a computer, consisting of a comprehensive list of subjects concerning which information may be retrieved by using the proper key terms.
   2. a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms stored in memory for use in word processing.

thesaurus

/ θɪˈsɔːrəs /

noun

1. a book containing systematized lists of synonyms and related words
2. a dictionary of selected words or topics
3. rare.
   a treasury

Word History and Origins

Origin of thesaurus¹

First recorded in 1730–40; from Latin thēsaurus, from Greek thēsaurós “treasure, treasury”

Word History and Origins

Origin of thesaurus¹

C18: from Latin, Greek: treasure

Example Sentences

And now you can break out the thesaurus.

From Los Angeles Times

And now you can break out the thesaurus.

From Los Angeles Times

“I don’t know what a dynasty is. You guys have the thesaurus, so you can figure it out. It’s a great win because I know how hard it is to do and how hard the season was, the ups and downs of the season, and how proud I am of the guys for just hanging with each other and staying positive with each other.”

From Seattle Times

Ms Ain said that experts are also looking to create a legal thesaurus in Indian sign language that would help the deaf lawyers and litigants.

From BBC

At their simplest, these programs mask plagiarism through liberal use of a thesaurus; replace enough words with synonyms and hopefully nobody will ever find the original source.

From Scientific American

Related Words

• reference book