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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.
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
But right outside the school gates is the school mural, depicting a pupil in the pose of Rodin's The Thinker surrounded by pictures of Aristotle, Socrates and Plato.
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2022
In his "American Thinker" article, Mattingly said his life "has never been the same" since the March 2020 raid.
From Fox News • Aug. 24, 2021
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
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.
