thinker

American  

[thing-ker] / ˈθɪŋ kər /

noun

1. a person who thinks, as in a specified way or manner.

   a slow thinker.

2. a person who has a well-developed faculty for thinking, as a philosopher, theorist, or scholar.

   the great thinkers.

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Other Word Forms

• nonthinker
  noun

Etymology

Origin of thinker

First recorded in 1400–50, thinker is from the late Middle English word thenkare. See think ¹, -er ¹

Explanation

A thinker is just what it sounds like — a person who does a lot of thinking. If you're a thinker, it may take you a while to make an important decision. You can use the noun thinker when you talk about a smart, scholarly person who's known for being an intellectual, or to describe someone who contemplates every choice at great length. Serious students are thinkers, and so are little kids who mull things over carefully, such as deciding which kind of doughnut to choose. Perhaps the most famous thinker is Auguste Rodin's bronze statue "The Thinker," which shows a man sitting, chin in hand, deep in thought.

Example Sentences

In 2004, a statue named The Drinker - a subversive take on Rodin's The Thinker - was installed on Shaftesbury Avenue, central London, before being stolen soon afterwards.

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

The record for a Rodin "Thinker" was set at a Sotheby's auction in New York in 2013, when one sold for $15.3 million.

From Reuters • Jun. 30, 2022

Hurley is vice president of the independent school newspaper, The Chicago Thinker, and has a hearing disability.

From Fox News • Jan. 22, 2022

Write by hand, on paper, and the moment you feel stuck—the moment you feel yourself assuming that Thinker pose—keep the pen moving, writing the alphabet until the next word comes to you.

From Slate • Oct. 19, 2020

She looked like that famous statue, The Thinker, but thin, with her brown plaid skirt covering her skinny knees and her ponytail flopped to one side.

From "The Landry News" by Andrew Clements

Related Words

• brain
• philosopher