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 ¹.

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

“And I thought he had the coolest shirts I’d ever seen in my life.”

From Los Angeles Times

“It shows these carbon-fluorine bonds are not as inert as we thought.”

From Science Magazine

Vik said "people thought I was weird" when he first started making content a decade ago.

From BBC

Researchers showed this process started much earlier than previously thought suggesting the earliest stages of pregnancy could have an impact on immune function for life.

From BBC

“It also shows a level of basketball IQ. And I thought our guys were great with that”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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

How Do You Spell Thought?

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.

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.