thatcher

Everyday

1. A thatcher is a person whose job is to make roofs from straw, reeds or similar dry plants. tree →
2. (a name) Thatcher is an English surname; Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, the first woman in that job. tree →

In the lessons

In history and country life it names an old craft still used on cottages in England and Ireland. As a name it appears in UK history lessons about modern Britain. Phrases: master thatcher, a thatched roof.

Examples

• The thatcher climbed onto the cottage roof with bundles of reed. tree →
• A good thatcher can make a roof that lasts thirty years. tree →
• Thatchers use long wooden pegs called spars. tree →
• Margaret Thatcher was the first woman Prime Minister of the UK. tree →
• Our village still has a thatcher who learned the craft from his father. tree →
• The thatcher's ladder leaned against the wall. tree →

Note

Countable: one thatcher, two thatchers. Related: thatch (the roof material, and the verb), thatched. As a surname it takes a capital letter. People still argue strongly about Margaret Thatcher's politics; history lessons give different views.