From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthankthank /θæŋk/ ●●● S1 W2 verb [transitive] 1 THANKto tell someone that you are pleased and grateful for something they have done, or to be polite about it I haven’t had a chance to thank him yet.thank somebody for (doing) something Did you thank Uncle Ron for the present? Madeleine thanked everyone for coming.2 → thank God/goodness/heavens3 → thank your lucky stars4 → only have yourself to thank (for something)5 → you’ll thank me6 → somebody won’t thank you (for doing something)7 → I’ll thank you to do something8 → have somebody to thank for (doing) something → thank youTHESAURUSthank to tell someone that you are pleased and grateful for something they have given you or done for youShe thanked them for the presents.You don’t need to thank me.He thanked her for coming and showed her to her car.say thank you to thank someone by saying the words ‘thank you’, or by giving them somethingI just wanted to say thank you for all your help.This gift is our way of saying thank you to everyone who worked so hard.Make sure you say thank you for your birthday presents.express your gratitude formal to thank someone for something they have done – used in speeches and lettersI would like to express my gratitude to all those who have sent me letters of support.show your appreciation formal to thank someone by giving them something, or by doing something special for themTo show our gratitude for all your hard work, we are paying you a special bonus.acknowledge to publicly do or say something to thank someone for their help or supportThe building will be named the John Laird Centre, to acknowledge the contribution of the Laird family to the area. He acknowledged the applause with a small bow. → See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
thank• I thank all who have assisted the Bill's passage through the House.• We must write and thank Cathy for the present.• After that lots of people stood up and thanked everybody.• A relieved Mr Maxwell thanked his lawyer profusely.• He was probably even now thanking his lucky stars for a narrow escape.• I spent three hours helping her and she didn't even thank me.• It is intended to accredit these individually as used but we would like to take the opportunity of thanking Mr Gilson now.• The Governor publicly thanked the people of Arizona for supporting him during his campaign.• She did not thank this nun for making her the centre of attention.thank somebody for (doing) something• I feel you are all friends, so thank you for a lovely magazine.• If he ever found this girl he would thank her for choosing to live in that quarter of the city.• Padma thanked me several times for coming.• Look, David, thank you for helping me.• Even as I thanked her for her help, I foresaw, with despair, what was going to come next.• But I forgot to thank him for lunch in the Palace.• And thank you everyone for the lovely presents for our new home.• Did you thank Aunt Edith for the present?• She could hardly thank them for the tears in her eyes.• But thank you for yours, Mr Hobsbawn.Origin thank Old English thancian 