thing

basic, essential

She always packs the essential things in her bag before leaving for work.

make

She made a delicious cake for her daughter's birthday party last weekend.

breakfast, lunch, etc.

After the meal, Sarah carefully packed away all the lunch things in her bag.

get together, pack

I need to pack my things before the taxi arrives tomorrow morning.

put on, take off

She put on her running things before heading to the gym this morning.

clear away/up, put away, tidy away/up

After dinner, she tidied away the dishes and cooking things before watching television.

hear, know, notice, see

I didn't notice a thing when my friend rearranged all the furniture in my room.

miss

She was so focused on her phone that she didn't miss a thing happening around the table.

do

When the store closed suddenly, customers couldn't do anything about their refunds.

eat

She was so nervous before the exam that she couldn't eat a thing that morning.

say

The children didn't say a thing during the entire movie.

mean

Money doesn't mean a thing to her when it comes to helping people in need.

good, great, positive

Learning a new language is a great thing because it opens many doors for your future.

bad, negative

Getting lost on the way home turned out to be a good thing because I discovered a new café.

appalling, awful, dreadful, horrible, terrible

It was an awful thing to do, leaving without saying goodbye to anyone at the party.

amazing, curious, exciting, extraordinary, funny, interesting, remarkable, startling, strange, striking, surprising, weird

The funny thing about moving to a new city is how quickly you make new friends.

foolish, silly, stupid

It was a silly thing to say, and I regretted it immediately.

bloody

That bloody thing broke again just when I needed it most.

crucial, key, main, important, vital

The main thing we learned from that experience was never to give up.

little, the slightest, small, trivial

She didn't complain about the trivial things that bothered other people.

easy

Learning to swim was the hardest thing my daughter ever attempted.

natural

It's a natural thing for children to be curious about everything around them.

close, close-run

Getting to the airport on time was a close thing because of the traffic jam.

everyday

My grandmother always carried a small bag for her everyday things like keys and glasses.

usual

Every morning, Sarah does her usual thing of making coffee before checking her emails.

nearest, next best

My grandmother's homemade cookies are the nearest thing to perfection I've ever tasted.

real

After years of training, she finally competed in the real thing and won a medal.

the whole

I didn't understand the whole thing, so I asked my teacher to explain it again.

last

The last thing I expected was to see my old friend at the grocery store yesterday.

loads, lots, plenty

There are plenty of things I need to buy before the party tomorrow.

do

My sister always does things in her own way, even when we suggest a better approach.

make up, say

My brother made up things about the party to impress his friends.

be hearing/imagining/seeing

I think I've been seeing things lately because I'm so tired from work.

go on, happen, occur

Strange things happened during the power outage last night that nobody could explain.

~ about

I really like one thing about this job—my coworkers are friendly and helpful.

among/amongst other things

Sarah enjoys painting, playing guitar, and amongst other things, volunteering at the local animal shelter.

have better things to do

She said she had better things to do than waste time arguing about it.

kind/sort of thing

My parents enjoy reading books, watching films, that kind of thing on weekends.

know/learn/teach sb a thing or two

My grandfather could teach us a thing or two about fishing after fifty years on the river.

no such thing

There is no such thing as a free lunch in the business world.

such a thing/a thing like that

My grandmother would never break a promise, she simply wouldn't do such a thing.

a thing of the past

Handwritten letters are becoming a thing of the past as people prefer to send emails.

think over/through

He needs to think things through carefully before making such an important decision.

look at, see

I saw things differently after traveling abroad for a year.

discuss, talk over, talk through

My parents decided to talk things through with me before making a decision about the move.

accept

I couldn't accept things the way they were, so I decided to make a change.

arrange, deal with, handle, look after, run, sort out

My manager arranged things so that I could leave early on Friday.

patch up

After the argument, Sarah and her brother decided to patch things up over coffee.

speed along/up

Installing a new software system will speed things up in our office.

stand

Things stand differently now that the new manager has arrived at the company.

be going

I haven't seen you in months, so tell me how things are going at your new job.

go (according) to plan, go well, work (out)

I hope things work out between them after their argument last week.

get better, improve, look up

After months of difficulties, things finally got better for our family.

look bright/good/promising/rosy

After we fixed the website bugs, things started looking promising for the product launch.

look bleak/grim

When the team lost their best player, things looked grim for the rest of the season.

turn out

I was worried about the job interview, but things turned out better than expected.

come to a head

After weeks of arguments, things finally came to a head during yesterday's family dinner.

get to sb

When my friend kept criticizing my work, those negative comments really got to me.

all/other things being equal

All things being equal, experience matters more than natural talent in most professions.

all things considered

All things considered, the project was successful despite the budget problems we faced.

get/keep things going/moving

The small shop managed to get things moving again after the new manager arrived.

get/put things straight

We need to put things straight before we can move forward as a team.

have/keep things in hand/under control

Don't worry about the project deadline—our team has everything well under control.

have things on your mind

He couldn't focus on the meeting because he had too many things on his mind.

let things slide/slip

After his injury, he didn't want to let things slide at work, so he returned early.

let things take their course/happen

After months of stress, she decided to let things happen naturally and see what would develop.

make things better, easier, difficult, worse, etc.

Working late every night made things even more difficult for his family.

put things right

After the argument, she wanted to put things right with her best friend.

things to come

The problems we're facing now are just a sign of things to come.

proper, right

She always tries to do the right thing, even when it's difficult.

wrong

He did the wrong thing by not telling his parents about the accident.

logical, obvious, prudent, sensible

The sensible thing would be to save some money before buying a car.

decent, done, honourable

When she found the wallet, returning it to its owner was the decent thing to do.

very

A warm blanket on a cold evening is the very thing I need right now.

just the thing, not quite the thing

A nice cup of tea is just the thing when you're feeling tired and cold.