Word
theses
Phoneticsthe·ses
US/ˈθisiz/
UK/θəsˈiːz/
Definition
n. long pieces of writing that students complete at the end of a university degree. They are usually based on original research and used to prove a specific idea.
n. plural form of 'thesis'; refers to long-form academic dissertations involving original research and the defense of a specific proposition.
Examples
“The students submitted their final theses to the department today.”
“The university library keeps a digital archive of all doctoral theses published by its graduates over the last decade.”
“While undergraduate essays often summarize existing knowledge, doctoral theses are expected to contribute original insights or novel data to their respective academic fields.”
Examples
simple
“The students submitted their final theses to the department today.”
contextual
“The university library keeps a digital archive of all doctoral theses published by its graduates over the last decade.”
complex
“While undergraduate essays often summarize existing knowledge, doctoral theses are expected to contribute original insights or novel data to their respective academic fields.”
Usage
The plural form of 'thesis', following the Greek-derived pattern where '-is' changes to '-es'.
Pitfall
the student's thesises
the student's theses
The word follows Greek pluralization rules; adding '-es' to the singular form is a common error.
Real-World Examples
“For three theses linked to the same research group to result in scientific publications within just three months is downright rare.” Etymology
Borrowed from Latin thesēs, from Ancient Greek θέσεις (théseis).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/theses