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# thorn

«thorn» in Mova's school dictionary: **a sharp, pointed part on the stem of a plant like a rose…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a thorn, thorns)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A thorn is a sharp, pointed part on the stem of a plant like a rose or bramble. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorn/#m1)

2) A thorn is a plant or bush with thorns, like a hawthorn. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorn/#m2)

3) «A thorn in your side» means a person or thing that keeps annoying or troubling you. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorn/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In science, thorns protect plants from being eaten by animals. In safety, thorns can scratch, and gardening gloves help. In stories and fairy tales, like Sleeping Beauty, a forest of thorns keeps people out. Phrases: «a thorn in my side», «every rose has its thorn», «thorn bush».

### examples

- I pricked my finger on a rose thorn. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorn/#x1)
- The thorns protect the plant from goats. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorn/#x2)
- Wear gloves when you pick blackberries because of the thorns. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorn/#x3)
- A thorn got stuck in the dog's paw. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorn/#x4)
- The castle was hidden behind a wall of thorns. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorn/#x5)
- The hawthorn tree has long thorns. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorn/#x6)
- That noisy neighbour is a thorn in my side. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorn/#x7)
- Mum pulled the thorn out with tweezers. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorn/#x8)
- A LION, roaming through a forest, trod upon a thorn. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorn/#x9)

### note

Countable: a thorn, thorns. Strictly, botanists say roses have «prickles», not true thorns, but in everyday English «thorn» is fine. Do not confuse with «torn» (ripped) or «throne» (a king's chair).

### In the corpora

- [A giraffe's dark tongue is about 45 to 50 centimetres long and pulls leaves past the thorns of acacia trees.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/128-madagascar-real-zebras-hippos-and-giraffes/15/)
- [Real biology: camels really do eat thorny desert plants; their tough lips and mouths are not hurt by the thorns.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/75-justso-camel-hump/19/)
- [Gardening gloves protect your hands from thorns, splinters, germs in the soil and insect stings.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/115-fire-candles-and-garden-tools/18/)
- [Move carefully past roses and brambles, and pull out thorns with a grown-up's help.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/237-plants-that-sting-and-poison/19/)
- [Move carefully near thorny bushes such as roses and brambles, and get a grown-up's help to pull out a thorn.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/301-tsunamis-lambs-plants-ants-and-stings/15/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «thorn» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorn/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.