- 1
To become thick, or to make something thick. It works both ways with no change in form: the sauce thickens (it does it by itself) and you thicken the sauce (you do it to something).
To become thick變濃稠、變厚 or to make something thick或是把某個東西弄濃稠、弄厚 It works both ways with no change in form這個字兩種用法形式完全一樣 the sauce thickens (it does it by itself)醬汁thickens是它自己變濃稠 and you thicken the sauce (you do it to something)而你thicken the sauce則是你把它弄濃稠
Most often it is about liquids getting less runny — cooking is the home ground of this word: Stir until the gravy thickens; Thicken the soup with a little .
Most often it is about liquids getting less runny最常見的是指液體變得比較不稀 cooking is the home ground of this word煮菜是這個字最常出現的地方 Stir until the gravy thickens攪拌到肉汁變濃稠 Thicken the soup with a little cornflour加一點太白粉把湯勾芡
It also covers things getting denser or wider generally: fog thickening over the road, a forest thickening as you walk deeper in, hair thickening, a tree trunk thickening over the years.
It also covers things getting denser or wider generally它也泛指東西變得更密或更粗 fog thickening over the road霧在路上變濃 a forest thickening as you walk deeper in越走進森林樹林越茂密 hair thickening頭髮變濃密 a tree trunk thickening over the years樹幹隨著歲月變粗
Then there is a well-worn idiom worth knowing: the plot thickens, said when a situation gets more or more mysterious — often half-jokingly, when a small everyday puzzle takes a strange turn.
Then there is a well-worn idiom worth knowing還有一個值得知道的老套語 the plot thickens the plot thickens said when a situation gets more complicated or more mysterious用在情況變得更複雜或更神祕的時候 often half-jokingly常常帶點半開玩笑的口氣 when a small everyday puzzle takes a strange turn用在日常生活的小疑點出現奇怪轉折的時候
Register is completely ordinary; you will meet it in recipes, in weather reports, and in novels describing a landscape. The one thing it does not usually mean is a person putting on weight — for that English says "put on weight" or, more literally and rather , "thicken around the middle."
Register is completely ordinary這個字的語域完全是普通、日常的 you will meet it in recipes, in weather reports, and in novels describing a landscape你會在食譜、天氣報告還有描寫風景的小說裡看到它 The one thing it does not usually mean is a person putting on weight它通常不會用來指一個人變胖 for that English says 'put on weight'那種情況英文會說'put on weight' or, more literally and rather unkindly, 'thicken around the middle.'或是更直白、也比較不客氣地說'thicken around the middle'（腰間變粗）
組成thick + -en. The ending -en turns a describing word into a doing word meaning "become that, or make something that" — a small, very productive piece of English. The word itself came into English in the medieval period, possibly influenced by Old Norse þykkna ("to thicken"), which is the same word in a cousin language.
原始詞典資料7 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
thickenverb/ˈθɪkən/
- 1
To make thicker (in the sense of wider).
- 2
To make thicker (in the sense of more viscous).
- to thicken a sauce
- 3
To become thicker (in the sense of wider).
- As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels. The reason plaque forms isn’t entirely known, but it seems to be related to high levels of cholesterol inducing an inflammatory response, which can also attract and trap more cellular debris over time.
- 4
To become thicker (in the sense of more viscous).
- 5
To strengthen; to confirm.
- And this may helpe to thicken other proofes,/ That do demonstrate thinly.
- 6
To make more frequent.
- to thicken blows
- 7
literaryTo make more detailed or comprehensive.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。