thrall

UK: /θrɔːl/ US: /θrɔl/ ,(thrôl)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

thrall /θrɔl/   n. [uncountable] Idioms

1. Idioms in thrall, in the power of someone or something:
   The speaker held us in thrall.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

thrall (thrôl),  n. 

1. a person who is in bondage;
   slave.
2. a person who is morally or mentally enslaved by some power, influence, or the like:
   He was the thrall of morbid fantasies.
3. slavery;
   thralldom.

v.t. 

4. [Archaic.] to put or hold in thralldom;
   enslave.

adj. 

5. [Archaic.] subjected to bondage;
   enslaved.

• Old Norse thrǣll slave
• bef. 950; Middle English; Old English thrǣl

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

thrall / θrɔːl/ noun

1. Also called: thraldom, (US) thralldom / ˈθrɔːldəm/ the state or condition of being in the power of another person
2. a person who is in such a state
3. a person totally subject to some need, desire, appetite, etc

verb

1. (transitive) to enslave or dominate

Etymology: Old English thrǣl slave, from Old Norse thrǣll