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Synonyms

think up

British  

verb

  1. (tr, adverb) to invent or devise

    to think up a plan
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
think up Idioms  

  1. Devise, contrive by thinking, as in She's an expert at thinking up interesting programs. [Mid-1800s]

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.

When asked whether he’d had any doubts about the feasibility of the intricately choreographed construction project, Hyman replied, “I think up until about last week.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

It’s about as dramatic a business narrative as you could think up.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

The pauses in chat were glacial as we all tried to think up stimulating questions that might lead us somewhere other than strained silence.

From Salon • Jul. 4, 2025

Mr Keen said he was not looking forward to the sea ice as he continues to head north - and added that he "may need to think up a plan B" for getting through it.

From BBC • May 15, 2023

I don’t know how low someone got to be sunk to think up doing something that evil.

From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.