Reference · The Foundational Entry
thiccc
/θɪk/ adj.- 1. Possessing notable mass, density, or viscous substantiveness; esp. in a manner that warrants commentary.
- 2. Of an object, structure, or substance: of conspicuous girth or volume relative to the category to which it belongs.
- 3. colloq. So substantively constructed that the eye lingers; of a presence that fills its allotted space and then some.
"The cement mixer rolled past the intersection with such thicccness that two pedestrians missed the walk signal entirely."
From thick (Old English þicce, "dense, stout, of considerable depth"), via thicc (early-2000s African-American Vernacular English and online discourse), with editorial doubling of the terminal c. The triple-c form, attested in scattered internet usage from the late 2010s, was formalized by the present publication in 2026 as the standard adjectival form for non-human applications.
Thick, thicc, thiccc: the difference
Three spellings, three different jobs. They are pronounced identically, /θɪk/, and the extra c's do their work entirely on the page.
- thick — one c
- The ordinary English adjective, attested since Old English þicce. Descriptive, neutral, and about a thousand years old. A thick book. A thick fog.
- thicc — two c's
- Internet vernacular, in wide circulation since the mid-2010s and acknowledged by Merriam-Webster in 2018. Originally African American Vernacular English, applied to body shape as a compliment. The doubled c marks it as slang rather than description: you are not saying a thing is thick, you are commenting on it.
- thiccc — three c's
- The escalated form, and the one this dictionary uses. Same pronunciation, higher commitment. Where two c's are casual, three are deliberate. We also narrow the meaning: thiccc applies only to objects, never to people.
If you arrived here looking up the two-c spelling, the short answer is that thicc means possessing notable, commentable volume, and that the third c is a stylistic escalation rather than a separate word.
An editorial note on the third c
The two-c spelling, thicc, is well documented. Merriam-Webster acknowledged it in 2018. Wiktionary has a clean entry. Know Your Meme has the timeline. Two c's are settled internet vernacular.
The third c is editorial. English does not formally double consonants for emphasis the way some languages do, but online writing improvised the convention, and we have escalated it. Two c's signal I am being a little online about this. Three c's signal I am fully committed to the bit and want you to know. It is the typographic equivalent of saying a thing twice while making prolonged eye contact.
The Thiccctionary uses three c's because the third c is what makes the project a project. A two-c "thicctionary" would be a one-off pun. The third c demands ongoing commitment. Every entry, every plate, every editorial decision honors that c.
The three senses we recognize
Girth. The original sense. A cement mixer is thiccc. A Chesterfield sofa is thiccc. A Boeing 747's rear fuselage is thiccc. The eye reads volume.
Density. Mass per unit space. A cinder block is thiccc. A bowling ball is thiccc. A wheel of aged Parmigiano-Reggiano is thiccc. The hand reads weight.
Viscosity. Substance suspended in liquid form. A milkshake from a competent diner is thiccc. Honey from a thoughtful apiary is thiccc. Engine oil after a long winter is thiccc. The spoon reads resistance.
An object qualifying in any one of these three senses warrants entry consideration. Objects qualifying in two or more proceed directly to the editorial review.
Frequently asked
What does thiccc mean?
Anything possessing notable mass, density, or viscous substantiveness, in a manner that warrants commentary. We apply it strictly to things, never to people.
Is it thicc or thiccc?
Both exist. Thicc is the settled internet form. Thiccc is the escalated form used here. The third c is the difference between participating in the slang and curating it.
What does thicc mean?
In general internet usage, thicc (two c's) describes something possessing notable, curvaceous volume, most often used of body shape as a compliment. It entered mainstream dictionaries in 2018. This dictionary uses the three-c form and restricts it to objects.
How many c's are in thicc?
Two, in the standard slang spelling. Three is the escalated form. One is just the ordinary word thick. All three are pronounced the same.
Why three c's?
Because two c's are the language and three c's are the discipline. See above.
Can a person be thiccc?
Not in this dictionary. The original slang applies to body shape; our editorial rule restricts the word strictly to objects, structures, vehicles, and substances. People are off-limits. The joke depends on the discipline. See What Counts as Thiccc for the full editorial position.
How do you pronounce thiccc?
Identically to thick. /θɪk/. The extra c's are visual, not phonetic. They do their work on the page.
Related reading
- A Brief History of Thiccc, the Word, from Old English to internet vernacular to the third c.
- What Counts as Thiccc, the editorial position on people, objects, and the line between.
- Cement Trucks: The Original Thiccc, the prototype, in detail.
- The Archive, every entry currently in the catalog.