plural thugs
1
see usage paragraph below : a violent or brutish criminal or bully
a brutal thug
a gang of thugs
… in American History X, Norton … plays a vicious young Venice Beach thug, a racist skinhead with … a thick black swastika tattooed over one bulging pec, and a gleam of murder in his eye.Owen Gleiberman
An authoritarian government willing to use the most brutal means to hold on to power; a dictator whose thugs have murdered, tortured, imprisoned or intimidated tens of thousands of civilians …Michiko Kakutani
2
: a member of a group of murderous robbers in India's past whose activities were suppressed in the early 19th century
thuggery noun
thuggish adjective
Usage of Thug

Although thug was originally (and often still is) a term with strong negative connotations, since at least the early 1990s it has been embraced and reconceived by rap artists.

[Tupac Shakur's] vision redefined the word "thug" into a man who triumphs over systemic and societal obstacles. Mosi Reeves

It now functions in African-American English with far more nuance than those unfamiliar with that reconception will recognize.

"A thug in black people's speech is somebody who is a ruffian but in being a ruffian is displaying a healthy sort of countercultural initiative, displaying a kind of resilience in the face of racism etc. Of course nobody puts it that way, but that's the feeling. And so when black people say it, they don't mean what white people mean …" John McWhorter

The word's original and ongoing use to refer to criminals is still very much present in the culture at large, however, and use of thug by a white person to refer to a Black person is generally understood to lack the nuance the word carries when used by a Black person, and to instead be an offensive insinuation that a Black person can be assumed to be engaged in criminal behavior.

Examples of thug in a Sentence

He was beaten and robbed by street thugs. the Mob boss regularly sent his thugs after people who were slow to pay their debts
Recent Examples on the Web Everything is designed to foster an otherworldly aura befitting a thug whose tyranny continues to haunt his country’s history nearly two decades after his death. Matthew Jacobs, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2024 Those scenes, set in a hellish war zone ruled by sadistic thugs, are gruesome in their depiction of what joining ISIS means for naïve boys like Mehdi and Amine. Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2024 Which is a good thing, because unbeknownst to Jamie and Marian, The Chief (Colman Domingo) and his thugs (C.J. Wilson and Joey Slotnick) want what’s hidden in the trunk of the car. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 21 Feb. 2024 Democrats will push plan after mass shooting KC mayor says governor used dog whistle when blaming ‘thugs’ for Chiefs rally shooting What could have been done to prevent Chiefs rally tragedy? Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 20 Feb. 2024 Last June, Aunt Maggie got out of her car in the church parking lot and was knocked down by an armed thug. Larry Elder, Orange County Register, 15 Feb. 2024 Mickey is a fiery and pernicious thug who serves as Ian's main love interest, and their complicated relationship (beginning with the classic enemies-to-lovers pipeline) is among the most compelling affairs in the show. Huntley Woods, EW.com, 13 Nov. 2023 But what bothers me about this is, don't take the side of a thug who kills his opponents. CBS News, 11 Feb. 2024 For the low cost of some expendable foreign thugs, Iran has forced the Americans to reposition forces and expend costly defensive ordnance, all but closed the Gulf of Aden to navigation, and now drawn American blood. The Editors, National Review, 29 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thug.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Hindi & Urdu ṭhag, literally, thief

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of thug was in 1839

Dictionary Entries Near thug

Cite this Entry

“Thug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thug. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

thug

noun
Etymology

from Hindi and Urdu ṭhag, literally "thief"

Word Origin
Thug was the name given by the British in India in the 19th century to a member of a band of thieves and murderers. A thug would pretend to be friendly with a traveler and offer to share a journey. Then as soon as it was safe to do so, the thug would strangle and rob his companion. The word thug comes from ṭhag, a word in the Indian language Hindi meaning one of these robbers. Since thugs made travel dangerous, the British government rounded up most of them, and in a few years they were no longer a threat. The word thug, however, has lasted till today and even taken on the broader meaning of "ruffian."

More from Merriam-Webster on thug

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