thought

¹

[thawt]

noun

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.

thought

²

[thawt]

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of think.

thought

/ θɔːt /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of think

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of thought¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of thought¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

It is thought Mr McCullough raises concerns about the scale of what have been dubbed "defensive operations".

From BBC

Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement that its thoughts "remain with Tamzin Hall's family".

From BBC

Ironman admitted they had also made a mistake, adding they "should have done proper research before jumping on what we thought was a social media trend".

From BBC

"I never talked about it before because I thought, 'Oh God, people are so predictable. They'll wanna know all the details'," she says.

From BBC

"I thought maybe I could become financially independent."

From BBC

Related Words

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

When To Use

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.