Thames /tɛmz/noun 1phrases 1 noun1 •A river in southern England, flowing 336 km (209 mi.) from Gloucestershire, through Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Greater London, and between Essex and Kent to the Thames Estuary and North Sea. Phrases with Thames set the Thames on fireTo achieve something amazing but to a nearly-impossible degree; to do something which brings great public acclaim.