thought

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   An idea, opinion, or picture in your mind.

   Grammar: Countable: a thought, many thoughts.

   Patterns

   • a thought about something
   • have a thought

   I had a sudden thought about where my keys might be.

   She kept her thoughts to herself.

   The thought of flying makes him nervous.

2. 2noununcountable

   The act or process of thinking, or careful consideration.

   Grammar: Uncountable: give it some thought.

   Patterns

   • give thought to something
   • after much thought

   After much thought, he turned the offer down.

   She gave the matter a lot of thought.

   I did not give it a second thought.

3. 3noununcountableformal

   A system of ideas belonging to a particular group, time, or thinker.

   Grammar: Often modified: modern thought, political thought.

   Patterns

   • modern thought

   The book traces ancient Greek thought.

   Political thought changed in the nineteenth century.

   Feminist thought shaped the debate.

4. 4verbtransitive or intransitive

   Past tense and past participle of think, meaning considered or believed something.

   Grammar: Verb form: I thought it was Tuesday.

   Patterns

   • thought that something is true

   I thought you were coming tonight.

   She thought carefully before answering.

   They thought of a clever solution.

Word forms

Common combinations

deep in thought

He sat deep in thought by the window.

second thoughts

I am having second thoughts about the trip.

food for thought

The speech gave us food for thought.

train of thought

I lost my train of thought.

in thought

She stared in thought at the sea.

school of thought

There are two schools of thought on this.

Synonyms and how they differ

idea

Idea is a plan or suggestion, while thought can be any passing mental content.

notion

Notion is a vague or slightly doubtful belief.

consideration

Consideration is careful thinking about a decision.

reflection

Reflection is slow, quiet thinking about the past.

Opposites

Word family

think verb

to use your mind to form ideas

thoughtful adjective

considerate, or full of thought

thoughtless adjective

not thinking of others

thoughtfully adverb

in a considerate or careful way

rethink verb

to consider again

Commonly confused: thought or throught? thought or through?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “thought”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words