thole

UK: /θəʊl/ US: (thōl)

Inflections of 'thole' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

tholes

v 3rd person singular

tholing

v pres p

tholed

v past

tholed

v past p

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

thole¹ (thōl), n. 

a pin, or either of two pins, inserted into a gunwale to provide a fulcrum for an oar. Also called thole•pin  (thōl′pin′). 
• bef. 900; Middle English tholle, Old English tholl; cognate with Low German dolle, Old Norse thollr; akin to Old Norse thǫll young fir-tree

thole² (thōl), v.t., tholed, thol•ing. [Chiefly Scot.]

1. Scottish Terms to suffer;
   bear;
   endure.

• bef. 900; Middle English tholen, Old English tholian; cognate with Old Norse thola, Gothic thulan; akin to Latin tolerāre (see tolerate), Greek tlênai to bear, endure

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

thole / θəʊl/, tholepin / ˈθəʊlˌpɪn/ noun

1. a wooden pin or one of a pair, set upright in the gunwales of a rowing boat to serve as a fulcrum in rowing

Etymology: Old English tholl, related to Middle Low German dolle, Norwegian toll, Icelandic thollr

thole / θəʊl/ verb

1. (transitive) to put up with; bear
2. an archaic word for suffer

Etymology: Old English tholian; related to Old Saxon, Old High German tholōn, Old Norse thola to endure: compare Latin tollere to bear up