Dictionary

thrive en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /θɹajv/

Etymology

From Middle English thryven, thriven, from Old Norse þrífa (“to seize, grasp, take hold, prosper”), from Proto-Germanic *þrībaną (“to seize, prosper”), from Proto-Indo-European *trep-, *terp- (“to satisfy, enjoy”). Cognate with Swedish trivas, Danish trives, Norwegian Bokmål trives.

Meanings

1. (intransitive) To grow or increase stature; to grow vigorously or luxuriantly; to enjoy a state of excellent health and well-being; to flourish.
   • The growing things jumbled themselves together into a dense thicket; so tensely earnest were things about growing in Skedans that everything linked with everything else, hurrying to grow to the limit of its own capacity; weeds and weaklings alike throve in the rich moistness. 1941, Emily Carr, chapter 3, in Klee Wyck:
   • to thrive upon hard work
   • So, on I went. I think I never saw / Such starved ignoble nature; nothing throve: / For flowers - as well expect a cedar grove! 1855, Robert Browning, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, section X:
   • Not all animals thrive well in captivity.
   • Dwarves had not passed that way for many years, but Gandalf had, and he knew how evil and danger had grown and thriven in the Wild, since the dragons had driven men from the lands, and the goblins had spread in secret after the battle of the Mines of Moria. 1937, J. R. R. Tolkien, chapter 4, in The Hobbit:
   • Despite a thriving global computer security industry that is projected to reach $79 billion in revenues next year, and the fact that in 2002 Microsoft itself began an intense corporatewide effort to improve the security of its software, Internet security has continued to deteriorate globally. 2009 February 15, John Markoff, “Do We Need a New Internet?”, in The New York Times:
   • “It seems to me, reverend father,” said the knight, “that the small morsels which you eat, together with this holy, but somewhat thin beverage, have thriven with you marvellously.” 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC:
2. (intransitive) To increase in wealth or success; to prosper, be profitable.
   • Though they obviously realized that these episodes were part of something wonderful and important and lasting, the writers and producers couldn’t have imagined that 20 years later “Treehouse Of Horror” wouldn’t just survive; it’d thrive as one of the most talked-about and watched episodes of every season of The Simpsons. 2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in The A.V. Club:
   • […] Deliver me the key. Here do I choose, and thrive I as I may! c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:
   • Since expanding in June, the business has really thrived.
   • On the Chickahominy, the Hazelwood brothers' fish house at Hicks Island and the Menzel brothers' fish house near the old shipyard thrived by serving local and distant markets. As late as 1977, a Publick Observer article boasted, "If you are served turtle soup in Atlanta or catfish in Ft. Wayne, Ind., chances are good that the main ingredients came from the waters of the James or the Chickahominy." 2009, Sara E. Lewis, James City County, page 77:
   • And, reader, the further you take this analogy the more beautifully it works: my anxiety disorder thrives on irrational scaremongery and paranoia, it often demands booze (but should not be given alcohol because it only makes it worse) and just when you think you have got rid of it for good, it pops up again. 2018, Natasha Devon, A Beginner's Guide to Being Mental: An A-Z, →ISBN:

Forms

Deriveds

thrift · thriver · thrivable · failure to thrive · unthrive

Translations (88)

ru цвести (to increase in bulk or stature) · ar ظَهَرَ (to increase in bulk or stature) · es medrar (to increase in bulk or stature) · de florieren (to prosper by industry) · ru разрастаться (to increase in bulk or stature) · ca prosperar (to prosper by industry) · ru буйно расти (to increase in bulk or stature) · sh bujati (to increase in bulk or stature) · fr s'épanouir (to increase in bulk or stature) · tr inkişaf etmek (to increase in bulk or stature) · cs vzkvétat (to increase in bulk or stature) · ar اِزْدَهَرَ (to prosper by industry) · cs prosperovat (to prosper by industry) · hu jól megvan (to increase in bulk or stature) · sa पुष्यति (to prosper by industry) · ru расцветать (to increase in bulk or stature) · it prosperare (to prosper by industry) · la vigeō (to prosper by industry) · ja 繁栄する (to increase in bulk or stature) · sco dae guid (to increase in bulk or stature) · no blomstre (to increase in bulk or stature) · ru благоденствовать (to prosper by industry) · fa شکفتن (to increase in bulk or stature) · ca créixer (to increase in bulk or stature) · ru преуспевать (to prosper by industry) · cs prosperovat (to increase in bulk or stature) · ar أَبْلَجَ (to prosper by industry) · ru процветать (to prosper by industry) · hi फलना (to prosper by industry) · pt desenvolver-se (to increase in bulk or stature) · fr 1&2: croître (to increase in bulk or stature) · pt crescer (to increase in bulk or stature) · fr 2:prospérer (to increase in bulk or stature) · pt prosperar (to increase in bulk or stature) · es prosperar (to increase in bulk or stature) · es prosperar (to prosper by industry) · fi kukoistaa (to prosper by industry) · cs prospívat (to increase in bulk or stature) · es crecer (to increase in bulk or stature) · es medrar (to prosper by industry) · fo ærast (to increase in bulk or stature) · ar أَضَاءَ (to prosper by industry) · mi whakapuāwai (to increase in bulk or stature) · tr gelişmek (to increase in bulk or stature) · ru пышно расти (to increase in bulk or stature) · bg процъфтявам (to prosper by industry) · enm thryven (to prosper by industry) · fr prospérer (to prosper by industry) · mi whakapuāwai (to prosper by industry) · tr büyümek (to prosper by industry) · sh prosperirati (to prosper by industry) · la prōveniō (to prosper by industry) · la vigeō (to increase in bulk or stature) · enm thryven (to increase in bulk or stature) · mi ngaruru (to increase in bulk or stature) · lv plaukt (to prosper by industry) · cmn 繁榮 /繁荣 (to increase in bulk or stature) · hi फलना (to increase in bulk or stature) · he שִֹגְשֵֹג (to increase in bulk or stature) · de blühen (to prosper by industry) · grc θάλλω (to increase in bulk or stature) · es chapearse (to prosper by industry) · cs dařit se (to prosper by industry) · ar أَنْجَحَ (to prosper by industry) · da trives (to increase in bulk or stature) · nl gedijen (to prosper by industry) · tr işi iyi gitmek (to prosper by industry) · de aufblühen (to prosper by industry) · tr zenginleşmek (to prosper by industry) · de gedeihen (to increase in bulk or stature) · nl gedijen (to increase in bulk or stature) · bg преуспявам (to prosper by industry) · cs růst (to increase in bulk or stature) · fi viihtyä (to increase in bulk or stature) · de prosperieren (to increase in bulk or stature) · ar زَهَرَ (to prosper by industry) · ar أَهَلَّ (to prosper by industry) · bg раста буйно (to increase in bulk or stature) · cs vzkvétat (to prosper by industry) · it prosperare (to increase in bulk or stature) · it fiorire (to prosper by industry) · es florecer (to prosper by industry) · sv frodas (to increase in bulk or stature) · mi tipu (to prosper by industry) · es florescer (to prosper by industry) · pt prosperar (to prosper by industry) · fa شکوفیدن (to increase in bulk or stature) · fr s'épanouir (to prosper by industry)