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thought

¹

[ thawt ]

/ θɔt /

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See synonyms for: thought / thoughts on Thesaurus.com

noun

the product of mental activity; that which one thinks: a body of thought.

a single act or product of thinking; idea or notion: to collect one's thoughts.

the act or process of thinking; mental activity: Thought as well as action wearies us.

the capacity or faculty of thinking, reasoning, imagining, etc.: All her thought went into her work.

a consideration or reflection: Thought of death terrified her.

meditation, contemplation, or recollection: deep in thought.

intention, design, or purpose, especially a half-formed or imperfect intention: We had some thought of going.

anticipation or expectation: I had no thought of seeing you here.

consideration, attention, care, or regard: She took no thought of her appearance.

a judgment, opinion, or belief: According to his thought, all violence is evil.

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

a very small amount; a touch; bit; trifle: The steak is a thought underdone.

OTHER WORDS FOR thought

3 meditation, rumination, deliberation, reflection; cogitation,

See synonyms for thought on Thesaurus.com

VIDEO FOR THOUGHT

Where Does The Phrase "Thoughts And Prayers" Come From?

When tragedies happen, social media fills up with thoughts and prayers. So, how did this phrase get so popular?

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QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

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Origin of thought

¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English thoght, Old English (ge)thōht; cognate with Dutch gedachte; akin to thank, think¹

Words nearby thought

Thotmes I, Thotmes II, Thotmes III, thou, though, thought, thought disorder, thought experiment, thoughtful, thoughtfulness, thought leader

Other definitions for thought (2 of 2)

thought²

[ thawt ]

/ θɔt /

verb

simple past tense and past participle of think¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

WHEN TO USE

What are other ways to say thought?

A thought is a single act or product of thinking. How is this word different from idea, conception, and notion? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.

How to use thought in a sentence

Beyond spaces for each day of the week, this model also includes extra lines for jotting down random thoughts or ideas and to-do lists, and you can feel accomplished by tearing and tossing each week’s sheet.
Desk calendars to organize your life|PopSci Commerce Team|September 10, 2020|Popular-Science
DeLeon offers several thoughts on solutions to these long-standing issues in her write up on the data on the Moz blog that I highly recommend reading.
Live with Search Engine Land: The SEO gender gap and how to close it|Ginny Marvin|September 8, 2020|Search Engine Land
Making decisions is a part of every job, but something we often do without much thought.
How to improve your decision-making process|Walter Frick|September 6, 2020|Quartz
In America, somebody referred to me very recently as a model minority, and I literally scoffed at the thought.
Tan France Goes Deep on Racism and When He Almost Quit ‘Queer Eye’|Eugene Robinson|September 3, 2020|Ozy

Other times, I’d be hiking for hours in the dark and I’d be really in my own head and kind of exploring all these thoughts without really having to wrap them up any time soon.
Inside an FKT Attempt on the Appalachian Trail|Martin Fritz Huber|September 3, 2020|Outside Online
In other words, the free thinker defending freedom of thought.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Rates are thought to be similar in developed countries around the world.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Not only had the iconic comedian sexually assaulted many, many women, Maher argued, “I never thought he was funny.”
Bill Maher: Hundreds of Millions of Muslims Support Attack on ‘Charlie Hebdo’|Lloyd Grove|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Because they stopped and I thought, “OK, that makes sense,” and then all of a sudden I saw another issue!
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I enjoyed it, but thought it paled in comparison to their debut.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Other things being equal, the volume of voice used measures the value that the mind puts upon the thought.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
He was too drowsy to hold the thought more than a moment in his mind, much less to reflect upon it.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
To reproduce the impulse born of the thought—this is the aim of a psychological method.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
There was no doubt thought of his own loss in this question: yet there was, one may hope, a germ of solicitude for the mother too.
Children's Ways|James Sully
"Better so," was the Senora's sole reply; and she fell again into still deeper, more perplexed thought about the hidden treasure.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson

British Dictionary definitions for thought

thought

/ (θɔːt) /

verb

the past tense and past participle of think

noun

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

a concept, opinion, or idea

philosophical or intellectual ideas typical of a particular time or placeGerman thought in the 19th century

application of mental attention; considerationhe gave the matter some thought

purpose or intentionI have no thought of giving up

expectationno thought of reward

a small amount; trifleyou could be a thought more enthusiastic

kindness or regardhe has no thought for his widowed mother

Word Origin for thought

Old English thōht; related to Old Frisian thochta, Old Saxon, Old High German githācht

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with thought

thought

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

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