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Nouns
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A Lightcone team member wrote that he had been an AI doom thinker since 2007.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
A strategic thinker, someone that can also work with the management team and mentor them and bring them along,” Mohn said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
“I recognize both sides of the political spectrum and very much just consider myself to be a free thinker, someone who is continuously seeking the truth wherever that truth may come from,” Amor said.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Silver, a math-forward thinker, clearly believes in the expected value of the coin flip.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
He or she is a deep thinker, canny like a fox, inspirational, and in many cases the toughest person in the boat.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
They are the thinkers and leaders setting its course.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Anthropic’s commitment to responsibility has allowed it to attract “some of the best minds and thinkers in the AI business,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
In the end, for all the movie’s pride in great thinkers, it does precious little thinking itself.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Gerd believes it's important to look both to the future and to a history before the Nazi era, when German-speaking lands were known as a place of "poets and thinkers."
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
“A lot of brilliant thinkers have come out of Riverview,” the professor said as he gestured for Grace and Jake to sit down.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
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