thought

¹ American  

[thawt] / θɔt /

noun

• thoughts
  plural

1. the product of mental activity; that which one thinks.

   a body of thought.

2. a single act or product of thinking; idea or notion.

   to collect one's thoughts.

3. the act or process of thinking; mental activity.

   Thought as well as action wearies us.

   Synonyms:

   cogitation, reflection, deliberation, rumination, meditation

4. the capacity or faculty of thinking, reasoning, imagining, etc..

   All her thought went into her work.

5. a consideration or reflection.

   Thought of death terrified her.

6. meditation, contemplation, or recollection.

   deep in thought.

7. intention, design, or purpose, especially a half-formed or imperfect intention.

   We had some thought of going.

8. anticipation or expectation.

   I had no thought of seeing you here.

9. consideration, attention, care, or regard.

   She took no thought of her appearance.

10. a judgment, opinion, or belief.

    According to his thought, all violence is evil.

11. the intellectual activity or the ideas, opinions, etc., characteristic of a particular place, class, or time.

    Greek thought.

12. a very small amount; a touch; bit; trifle.

    The steak is a thought underdone.

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thought ² American  

[thawt] / θɔt /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of think.

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thought British  

/ θɔːt /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of think

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noun

1. the act or process of thinking; deliberation, meditation, or reflection

2. a concept, opinion, or idea

3. philosophical or intellectual ideas typical of a particular time or place

   German thought in the 19th century

4. application of mental attention; consideration

   he gave the matter some thought

5. purpose or intention

   I have no thought of giving up

6. expectation

   no thought of reward

7. a small amount; trifle

   you could be a thought more enthusiastic

8. kindness or regard

   he has no thought for his widowed mother

thought Idioms  

1. see food for thought; lost in thought; on second thought; penny for your thoughts; perish the thought; train of thought. Also see under think.

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Usage

Spelling tips for thought The word thought is hard to spell because it sounds as if it should be spelled [ thawt ]. The combination of letters -ought can be pronounced many different ways (nine to be exact!). How to spell thought: Thinking is hard work. It might make you go "oh! ugh!" (-ough). Add a t to the end and you get thought.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• thoughts
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of thought

First recorded before 900; Middle English thoght, Old English (ge)thōht; cognate with Dutch gedachte; akin to thank, think ¹

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Explanation

Thought is the process of using your mind to consider something. It can also be the product of that process: an idea or just the thing you're thinking about. Thought can also refer to the organized beliefs of a period, individual, or group. If you're writing an essay about the Reformation, you'll probably want to summarize early Catholic thought regarding free will and predestination. This word can also be used to describe a personal belief or judgment you can't prove or be entirely certain of.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thought thoughts

“I just thought we needed a spark,” LaFleur said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

“Half of them supported me, half of them thought, ‘No, we can’t do anything.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

There is something faintly unnerving about the specificity of a corporate reassurance, particularly when it introduces several possibilities you hadn’t thought to worry about.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026

She said she’d only gone along with it because dad had insisted, and that now she needs it for retirement, because she’s not as financially secure as she thought they were.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

"You put cottage cheese in my helmet. And I thought there was something seriously wrong with me!"

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

"Our thoughts and our prayers are with him. But that's just one of those things. Kind of wild it happens, I'd never seen that from an official," said Blake.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

Mindfulness meditation encourages people to observe their thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations without immediately judging or reacting to them.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

Many economists criticized Warsh for not saying more about his thoughts on the road ahead.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

During his late-night appearance, Schreiber made it quite clear he has a bone to pick with increasingly reductive language, lamenting the use of emojis to communicate thoughts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

‘Okay, let’s have a look,’ Gabi says, breaking into my thoughts.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

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Related Words

• anxiety
• assessment
• belief
• concern
• conclusion
• dream
• expectation
• feeling
• hope
• image
• intention
• judgment
• knowledge
• notion
• opinion
• plan
• prospect
• theory
• thinking
• understanding

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