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real thing

real thing

102 3.8
A thing that is not fake and is exactly as expected
  • noun
translation icon : lo auténtico
  • When I finally saw the masterpiece in person, I knew I was looking at the real thing.

AI is of course, a real thing, and it's not really all that new.

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Examples

  • So if this is the real thing, does this deserve some amount of attention?

  • Well, it certainly smells like the real thing.

  • And then tomorrow we'll actually do the real thing, the real thing, the real thing.

  • It's nice to meet the real thing.

  • In my opinion it's the real thing.

  • Decided it was time to try the real thing.

  • Looks like the real thing.

  • This is the real thing, my boy.

  • Well, save up and buy the real thing when you're ready.

  • Being a part of the posse was the most real thing that had ever happened to me.

    Fiction book (1997)

Synonyms

real McCoy
vsreal thing
6 7.7

A person or thing that is the original and not a copy

is the same idea but often used with a leading article
the real McCoy
vsreal thing
  • Informal
5 7.8

The original thing and not a copy

is the same idea but usually said without the leading article

Antonyms

64 3.5

An object made to look real to trick people

How Genuine

real thing
102 3.8
imitation
34 3.5
fake
64 3.5

Surface Forms

real thing singular
real things plural

Morphology

real + thing

The meaning 'genuine; authentic' is directly and compositionally derived from 'real' (genuine) + 'thing' (object/entity), so the phrase denotes an item that is actually genuine. This adjective+noun pattern is straightforward, non-metaphorical, and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

The phrase real thing comes from markets where a seller would point to the original product and call it the real thing to show it was not a copy. That's why today it means 'genuine' or exactly what you expect.