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🪡 To remove thread 💬 To separate posts
to unthread

to unthread

5.1
To take thread out of a needle, cloth, or hole
  • verb
  • /ʌnˈθrɛd/
translation icon : desenhebrar
  • Before washing the curtain, please unthread it from the rod.
  • unthreaded his fingers

Examples

  • If I found a knot, I'd press it gently between my fingers, unthreading it like a spider's web.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Just unthread it through the thing.

    The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)

  • I had to squat and cramp my fingers unthreading our lines from it.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The seat belts were so tight at that point I couldn't unthread the middle seat belt from around her neck; it just wouldn't budge.

    Blog text (27)

  • He then unthreads the nylon twine from Corbett's tarp.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • To fix the fabric, she needed to unthread the loose seam and start sewing again.

  • In a delicate operation, he had to unthread the fishing line from the tangled weeds.

Synonyms

to unpick
vsto unthread
1 6.4

To remove stitches from fabric by taking out the thread

is for pulling a length from a needle or hole rather than removing stitches
to unstitch
vsto unthread
1 6.3

To pull out the thread used to join pieces of cloth or close a cut

is for pulling a length from a needle or hole rather than removing wound stitches
to unsew
vsto unthread
8.4

To remove stitches from cloth or clothing

is for pulling a length from a needle or hole rather than undoing sewn seams

Antonyms

to thread
22 3.0

To pass a thin string through a small hole or eye

Surface Forms

unthread infinitive
unthreaded past
unthreaded past participle
unthreading present participle
unthreads third person singular

Morphology

unthread = thread (transparent) = un + thread

The prefix 'un-' clearly marks reversal/removal applied to the verb 'thread', so the meaning is directly derivable.

Etymology

Unthread is made from un- meaning 'remove' or 'reverse' and thread meaning 'a thin string', so it literally means to take a string out. That's why to unthread something is to pull the thread out of a needle, fabric, or hole.