second thought

American  

Or second-thought

noun

1. Often second thoughts. reservation about a previous action, position, decision, judgment, or the like.

   He had second thoughts about his decision.

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idioms

1. on second thought, after reconsideration.

   On second thought, I don't think I'll go.

second thought British  

noun

1. (usually plural) a revised opinion or idea on a matter already considered

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Etymology

Origin of second thought

First recorded in 1625–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

second thought

A 20-year-old has decades of that long run ahead, and should be almost entirely in stocks without a second thought about short-term swings.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

Most people pour the leftover brine down the drain without a second thought.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

But for Fatima, a 36-year-old German housewife travelling with her family, "there was no second thought" about coming to Mecca, Islam's holiest city.

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

He told his parents he had noticed an identical one on the bar, picked it up and put it in his pocket without a second thought - not realising it belonged to somebody else.

From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026

“Good Lord, Turner III, she’s almost as old as I am. Every second thought is about dying. And she doesn’t have any friends before her gone anyway.”

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt