thought

¹ American  

[thawt] / θɔt /

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.

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thought ² American  

[thawt] / θɔt /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of think.

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thought British  

/ θɔːt /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of think

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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

thought Idioms  

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

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Usage

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.

Etymology

Origin of thought

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

Example Sentences

"People genuinely thought I'd went missing, others thought I'd fallen out with them," she said.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

“The best thing you can say about them is that they weren’t as harmful people thought they would be,” said Scott Lincicome, the vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

You’d have thought he’d have learned as much from his emergency-tariffs strike out.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

“I just thought, ‘This cannot be where I’m going to be every day.’

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

“I thought it was clear last night that I needed your help today.”

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

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